Different Summers
by Peacex3Believe
Summary: Channy has been broken up for a while now. What happens when Sonny's mother invites Chad on their family vacation? Based on "Different Summers" by Demi Lovato.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey! So this is going to be a multi chapter story, I'm not sure how long it's gonna be though. Think of it as a Sonny With A Chance movie. I hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, unfortunately.**

Sonny's POV

It was a beautiful June morning. The sun was shining brightly and it was just the right temperature. Most importantly, it was the last episode of So Random's season until the fall. I could hardly wait for vacation. Every year we go to the beach on the east coast. This time, I was going to Myrtle Beach with my extended family from Wisconsin. My best friend Lucy and her family always go too. I couldn't wait to see them all again!

Lost in my thoughts, I walked inside the main building of Condor Studios and bumped into my ex-boyfriend, Chad Dylan Cooper.

"Watch where you're go- Oh, hey Munroe."

I just rolled my eyes and said, "Hey, Cooper."

I was a little disappointed that we were all the way back to square one where he didn't even call me by my first name. Things haven't been the same since I'd broken up with him. He apologized countless times, but I just couldn't take him back. I know he meant well, he always does, but somehow it always turned out badly.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, but then he decided against it and walked away.

I made my way to the dressing room that Tawni and I share. I watched everyone hurrying around, eager for the day to end so they could enjoy summer vacation. When I reached the prop house, Nico and Grady were playing a Monkey Cars 3D video game.

I walked in the room saying, "Hey guys!"

Grady replied, "Hi Sonny— Hey! You can't do that!"

Nico just said, "Says who? It's obviously not in the rules or I woulda gotten flagged!"

I laughed to myself and yelled, "Hey Zora!" as I walked past her sarcophagus.

She opened the door with a, "Greetings, Sonny! Would you happen to have 12 AA batteries?"

"Top cabinet over there," I told her, pointing her in the right direction.

"Thanks, Sonny!" she shouted back to me as I walked into the hall.

I tried to open the dressing room door, but it was locked. That's Tawni for you.

"Tawni! Could you unlock the door please?" I yelled.

In return, she shouted back, "Go through your own door!"

Not wanting to argue on our last day before vacation, I just sighed and went around to my door. Luckily, she didn't lock that one. About a half hour after, we headed to the set.

Since it was the last day, we didn't have class. We did get our report cards though.

"Alright! All A's and B's!" I exclaimed happily, "What did you guys get?"

"Straight A's again," Zora shrugged.

"AHH! NERDS! GET AWAY!" Tawni, Nico, and Grady yelled as they ran to the stage.

Zora and I just shrugged at each other and followed them.

"You're late," Marshall scolded.

"Sorry Marshall," I apologized for everyone.

"Well, let's get this run through started," he said, motioning us up onto the stage, "We've gotta have everything perfect for the finale tonight!"

* * *

><p>"Thank you, guys! We love you all! Have great summer!" I said into the microphone.<p>

The So Random finale was officially over. I was a bit sad, but excited for my trip.

After every show, we stayed and met fans for a while before leaving. They're all so amazing and sweet. One time, I met a little boy named Drew. I asked him to marry me and he said no, so I sang Teardrops On My Guitar to him. He was totally adorable.

**(A/N: If you didn't understand that reference, look up "Demi Lovato's new boyfriend" on YouTube. Watch the one where she was wearing the dress from Dakota's Revenge and wearing a neon green sweatshirt on her arms. It's hilariously cute. xD)**

After all the fans had left the stage, everyone went back to their dressing rooms to pick up a few things before leaving for the summer.

"Aww, I'm gonna miss you guys!" I said to them.

"We'll miss you too, Sonny!" Grady replied, hugging me.

I hugged each of them at least three times. Even Tawni! Once they'd all left, I walked toward the front of the building to wait for my mom to pick me up. We only have one car, so I usually get dropped off and picked up or I take the bus.

I'd only walked outside my dressing room when my mom called.

"Hey, mom! What's up?" I asked cheerfully.

"Hi sweetie! I have to stay late at work again. Do you think you could get a ride home with one of your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so. If not, I'll just take the bus again."

"Alright. Be careful! I'll see you at home."

I hung up the phone and sighed. All my friends had left for the summer. What was I going to do for the next two hours while I waited for the bus?

I occupied myself with apps on my phone, props in the prop house, and as a last resort, I started watching Mackenzie Falls. I got so into it, that I lost track of time. The bus just pulled away from the stop as I ran outside.

"Ugh! Now what am I going to do?" I yelled to no one in particular.

Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see the blonde headed boy that used to make my heart soar.

"What are you doing here so late, Sonny?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question." I replied.

Avoiding my eyes he said, "Well I, uh, saw you missed the bus. Do you need a ride home?"

"Um, yeah…" is all I said.

"I'll drive you if you want." he offered.

I studied his expression for a few seconds and decided his offer was genuine, so I said, "That would be great if it's not too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all. I drive by your place to get home anyways." he said, walking toward his silver convertible.

I thought for a few seconds before answering him. When we got to his car I said, "…No you don't."

He turned a little bit red and held the door open for me, "Do you want a ride or not?"

I just looked at him and sat down in the passenger's seat. He closed the door and started driving toward my apartment building. The silence between us was awkward and we both felt so tense, so I turned on the radio.

_Top back, hands up, radio on._

_I'm with my girlfriend, just us, they're playing our song, yeah._

_Ain't nothing like a summertime ride._

_Ain't nothing like the summertime._

Before we heard another line, Chad reached over and changed the station.

He muttered just loud enough for me to hear, "Freaking 13 year olds… Shouldn't be singing about driving when they can't even drive yet."

I smiled a little at that comment. Finally he settled on another station. As the current song on the station ended, a new one began.

_I didn't wanna say 'I'm sorry'_

_For breaking us apart._

_I didn't wanna say 'It was my fault'_

_Even though I knew it was._

_I didn't wanna call you back_

_'Cause I knew that I was wrong._

_Yeah, I knew I was wrong._

_One in the same,_

_Never to change,_

_Our love was beautiful._

_We got it all,_

_Destined to fall,_

_Our love was tragical._

_Wanted to call,_

_No need to fight,_

_You know I wouldn't lie._

_But tonight, we'll leave it on the line._

_Listen, baby._

_Never would have said 'Forever'_

_If I knew it'd end so fast._

_Why did you say 'I love you'_

_If you knew that it wouldn't last._

_Baby, I just can't hear what you're saying._

_The line is breaking up._

_Or is that just us?_

_Or is that just us?_

_One in the same,_

_Never to change,_

_Our love was beautiful._

_We got it all,_

_Destined to fall,_

_Our love was tragical._

_Wanted to call,_

_No need to fight,_

_You know I wouldn't lie._

_But tonight, we'll leave it on the line._

_I try to call again,_

_I get your mailbox,_

_Like a letter left unread._

_Apologies are often open ended,_

_But this one's better left unsaid._

_One in the same,_

_Never to change,_

_Our love was beautiful._

_We got it all,_

_Destined to fall,_

_Our love was tragical._

_Wanted to call,_

_No need to fight,_

_You know I wouldn't lie._

_But tonight, we'll leave it on the line._

Even though neither of us spoke, I knew that both of us were thinking about the other while it played. Luckily, we arrived at my house before we had the chance to talk about anything.

"Thanks, Chad," I said as I got out of the car.

He got out too and said, "Anytime."

"You don't have to walk me to my apartment. I'll be fine."

"It's alright. I want to… If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, it's fine."

We walked up the two flights of stairs before reaching my apartment. I took out my key and unlocked the door. I was surprised to see my mother sitting at the kitchen table.

"Sonny! Where were you? Why didn't you answer your phone?" she said as she rushed to the door.

"What do you mean?" I said, checking my phone. "Oh, I guess my phone died. Well, I was at the studio waiting for the bus, but then I missed it. So Chad drove me home."

My mom looked behind me to see Chad. "Oh, hello again, Chad."

He nodded and said, "Hello Ms. Munroe."

"Thanks for driving Sonny home. I hope she wasn't any trouble." she said with a smile that said, 'I hope you don't mind if I embarrass you in front of your ex-boyfriend.'

"Mommm!" I exclaimed.

Chad just smirked and said, "Not at all. Though, she _can_ be a handful."

"Don't I know it!" she laughed.

"OKAY, I think that's enough, mom. Thanks again, Chad." I said, glaring at my mom.

She just ignored me and said, "So, Chad. Are you doing anything interesting over the summer?"

"Not really," he shrugged indifferently, "My parents are always on business trips. I guess I'll just hang out in my house."

"That doesn't sound like much fun!" she frowned.

I just rolled my eyes. '_He'll probably be at parties every night, making out with girls…' _I thought.

Before I got totally lost in my thoughts, I heard my mother say, "Oh, I know! You should come to Myrtle Beach with us! We're renting a house for two weeks. It'll be tons of fun!"

"What? Mom!" I blurted out, blushing furiously.

"Shh, Sonny!" she scolded me.

"I really shouldn't… You've gotten everything planned already." Chad said quietly.

"Nonsense! There's already going to be 28 people. One more person won't change much."

"If you're sure it wouldn't be too much trouble…"

"It's no trouble at all. You'll fit right in." she smiled.

"Okay." he said, smirking at me.

"Well then it's settled! We're leaving for the airport on Sunday, so be here by 7:00 AM."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." he said, looking at me. I just glared before heading to my room to pack.

This was going to be a very… interesting vacation.

**A/N: Review? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter starts out pretty well, but towards the end, it's a lot of describing. For the Twitter conversation, the bold part is who tweeted it. The **underlined** part is a username mention. The**_ italics_** are the actual text tweet. **

**OH! And by the way, both the usernames are two of my roleplay accounts. No, they're not dating. xD My Sonny's dating a different Chad and my Chad is single.**

**In this chapter, I introduce 26 new characters! You don't need to know all of them. Most are just the filler characters in Sonny's family. **

**If you go to Twitpic and put "/5e13b7" at the end of the homepage url, it'll take you to a picture of the family tree. It's also linked on my profile under "Incomplete Stories". **

**The picture shows you who's related to who and who's important in the story. I hope I don't confuse you too much!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, just the characters I made up that happen to now live in my imagination.**

Chad's POV

On Sunday, promptly at 7:00, I knocked on the Munroe's apartment door.

"Sonny, Could you get the door please?" I heard her mother yell.

A few moments later, the door swung open and I was face to face with the beautiful girl who used to be mine. She had her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, keeping the hair from hiding her chocolate brown eyes. She was dressed in a yellow tie-dyed t-shirt and knee length denim shorts. Even dressed so plainly, she looked stunning.

"Earth to Chad!" Sonny said, waving her hand in front of my face.

"What?" I asked, regaining my composure.

"I asked if you could help me and my mom take these bags out to our car." she repeated in an annoyed tone.

"No need," I said, beckoning to the chauffeur following me. "We'll take the limo."

"Oh, alright. C'mon mom! We're gonna be late!" she yelled, picking up her backpack and suitcase, "Oh, and Chad? Could you get my guitar please?"

I nodded and picked up Sonny's guitar case, then followed her down the stairs and out to where the limo was waiting.

Going through the airport and security was fairly easy. The plane was delayed for about a half hour, but soon we were on our way.

When the flight attendants announced you could use electronic devices, I took out my laptop and logged onto Twitter.

The first thing I saw on my timeline was:

**SonnyIsSunny:** _Currently several thousand feet in the air. Tweet, tweet! Hahah! :D_

I glanced at the girl sitting next to me and saw she was online as well. I guess I was busy setting up my laptop to notice she logged on too.

**TheGreatCDC:**_ In flight Wi-Fi is one of the best inventions since duct tape._

Instantaneously, my mentions were filled with fangirls agreeing on how much they love Wi-Fi, duct tape, and me.

I replied to a handful of them before I was mentioned on my main timeline.

**SonnyIsSunny:** _TheGreatCDC Duct tape? Really Chad?_

So I replied,

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Yes, Sonny. Really. Who doesn't love duct tape?_

She answered me with,

**SonnyIsSunny: **_TheGreatCDC I don't know. Why are we even having this conversation?_

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Well, if you direct your attention to one of your previous tweets, you'll see what started this conversation._

I could tell she was rolling her eyes without even looking at her when I read,

**SonnyIsSunny: **_TheGreatCDC I know __**that**__!_

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Why did you ask then?_

**SonnyIsSunny: **_TheGreatCDC I meant, why are we talking on Twitter? We're on the same plane and sitting right next to each other, you idiot! :P_

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Because we __**can**__. ;)_

**SonnyIsSunny: **_TheGreatCDC Ew, don't use winky faces! They're creepy! o.O_

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Well in that case… ;)_

**SonnyIsSunny: **_TheGreatCDC -.-_

I could tell that she was glaring at me, so I decided to kick it up a notch.

**TheGreatCDC: **_Hey everyone, spam SonnyIsSunny with winky faces! She hates 'em. ;)_

**SonnyIsSunny: **_O.O …I'm gonna get you for this. TheGreatCDC. -.-_

**TheGreatCDC: **_SonnyIsSunny Sure you will, Sonshine. ;) ;) ;)_

"Sonshine? You haven't called me that since…" she said, her voice trailing off as she looked out the window.

"Oh, right…" I replied quietly as I closed my laptop.

She simply took out her iPod and a book called _The Hunger Games_, then withdrew from our conversation.

'_Nice job, Goldfarb! Ugh… I hate that name. What kind of name is Goldfarb, anyways?' _I thought to myself.

I contemplated that for a few minutes and then drifted off to sleep.

Sonny's POV

When I opened my eyes, the whole world was tilted. I felt something weighing down on the top of my head. I looked up and saw the blonde boy was asleep too. I'd fallen asleep on his shoulder. Blushing, I sat up and looked around. My iPod was still playing and my copy of _The Hunger Games_ was sitting on the tray table in front of me. My mom was also asleep, but she'd been asleep from the beginning of the ride.

Just then, a flight attendant walked by and said, "Excuse me miss, could you please wake up your boyfriend? We'll be landing soon."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend…" I said, shaking him gently.

She just smiled and said, "Right," before walking away.

"Chaaaddd…" I said softly, trying to wake him.

I repeated variations of his name several times before finally just smacking his arm and saying, "Chad Dylan Cooper, you better wake up right this instant!"

"Mm… Five more minutes, Hannah…"

My face reddened a little as I continued shaking him.

When he finally woke up, I asked him, "Who's Hannah?"

"Huh?" he asked, confusedly.

"I tried to wake you up and you told me, 'Five more minutes, Hannah.' Who's Hannah?"

He explained, "She's our housekeeper. My parents are never home so they hired her… Why do you ask?"

"No reason," I lied as blood ran to my cheeks, making me blush.

"Was Sonny Munroe _jealous_?" he smirked.

"No!"

"Really Sonny? _Really_?" he said, trying to get me lost in his eyes.

Unfortunately, it worked.

"I, uh… Uhm…" was all I could get out.

I heard my mom laugh softly, breaking me out of the trance Chad had brought me into.

"Your father used to do that to me all the time." she said, putting her magazines away.

"Oh yeah, what's the deal with your dad? You've never talked about him." Chad asked me quietly.

When I didn't answer, he said, "You don't have to tell me. I was just curious."

"T-thanks…" I said softly.

None of us said anything until the plane landed safely on the ground and we were in the airport.

It took a little, but finally we had all of our bags. Chad's took especially long because he couldn't find his guitar. How hard is it to find a guitar shaped case? I'm pretty sure I was the only other person who put a guitar through baggage claim on our flight.

When we had picked up all of our bags at the baggage claim, I checked my cell phone and saw I had a new voicemail from Lucy.

"_Hey Sonny! We just landed in South Carolina! Call me when you guys land!"_

I hit "Call Back" and waited for her to pick up.

"Sonny!"

"Lucy! Hey, we landed about a half hour ago. We just finished picking up our bags. Where are you guys?"

"We're over by the—"

"Wait, I see you! Stay there!" I said, hanging up the phone.

Picking up our bags, we walked over to where my friends and family were waiting.

I heard a mixture of "SONNY!" and "ALLIE!" from Lucy, her brothers, and my cousins as they all ran to hug me.

The adults greeted my mom with, "Connie! Good to finally see you again! How's Hollywood been treating you?"

After a few minutes, a few of my little cousins shrieked at the sight of Chad.

"Oh my gosh! You're _the _Chad Dylan Cooper!" squealed the 15 year old twins, Carrie and Cassie.

As they asked him questions faster than he could answer, Lucy turned to me and asked, "What is he doing here? I thought you broke up with him!"

"I did. Long story short, my mom invited him." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Alright! Now that we're all here, we can all head to the house! Let's go pick up the cars from rental." said Uncle Mitch.

Everyone picked up their belongings and followed behind.

Chad's POV

The next two hours was pure agony. The traffic was pretty terrible so it took longer than we'd expected. Two hours of being stuck in a car with Sonny, her friend Lulu, Lulu's brothers, and some of the Sonny's little cousins. Two hours of being forced to listen to terrible music. Two hours of being forced to listen to everyone in the car _singing_ terrible music.

But I've gotta admit, Sonny's got a pretty good voice. She used to sing all the time when we were dating…

Anyways, we finally arrived at the house. It was literally right on the beach. You walk like 50 feet into the backyard and you're standing on the edge of the beach.

The actual house was fairly large. I mean, I lived in a bigger house, but this house could definitely hold 29 people. It was a 2 story, C-shaped house, forming almost a complete box around the swimming pool. The only side of the "box" that was open was facing the beach.

The second all of our suitcases hit the floor, everyone went exploring. The kids all went immediately to the back where the pool was. The teenagers stood on the edge of the beach, just looking around. The adults were inside looking and claiming the rooms they would stay in.

On the first floor when you first walk in, there's a living room on your right. In the living room, there was two couches forming an L-shape and a flat screen TV. If you go through a door on the other side of the living room, there's a game room. Pool table, video gaming systems, pretty much anything you'd consider a game was in there. Within the game room was a small bedroom for four.

If you went to the left when you came in, there's a huge kitchen. If you go past the kitchen, there's a bathroom and then a dining room. The dining room had a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling above a long, rectangular table. The table was big, but couldn't hold more than 15 people.

Standing at the front door, there were two sets of stairs and a balcony that reminded me of the royal palace in Princess Diaries. (In my defense, the only reason I know that is because my little cousin Ariana made me watch it with her.)

The top floor of the house was symmetrical. One room on each end of the "C" with two rooms facing opposite each other and a bathroom on the other end of the hall. The sides of the house facing the pool had balconies overlooking it. The rooms at the end of the hall also had balconies looking over the beach. Below the balconies was a deck surrounding the pool area. Overall, it was a pretty nice house.

On the right side of the house, I got the end room on the second floor. One of the Miller families were in a room next to mine. The other Millers took the room across from their cousins.

Sonny, her mom, and her grandmother took the room corresponding to mine. Lucy and her family, the Johnsons, stayed in a room next to Sonny's. The Colemans got the room across from the Johnsons. The Martins took the room inside of the game room.

I guess I should explain each of the families. If you really wanna remember, you better take notes.

Sonny's grandfather, Jack Miller, married a woman named Eleanor. They had five children: Connie, Natalie, Melody, Mitchell, and Aaron.

Connie married Jake Munroe and had Sonny (age 17, duh).

Natalie married Jason Coleman. The Colemans have a 17 year old boy named Shane, identical twins Carrie and Cassie (age 15), and 12 year old Tyler.

Melody and Cory Martin have 13 year old Tess and 12 year old Ian.

Mitchell Miller is married to Hayley. Mitchell and Hayley have three kids named Zach (age 12), Jenna (age 7), and Claire (age 4).

Aaron and Violet Miller have two kids: AJ (age 6) and Ryan (age 2).

Elaine and Stephen Johnson have four kids: Brian (age 19), Matt (age 18), Lucy (age 17), and Nathan (age 13).

That's everyone. Confusing, huh? I thought so too.

The first night was fairly uneventful. We mostly unpacked and settled in. When we'd finished, the teenagers and kids jumped into the pool for about two hours. I wasn't in the mood to swim, so I sat on the deck and played my guitar for them.

I watched them all the whole time. Sonny played with Jenna, Claire, and AJ until it was their bedtime. Typical Sonny. She loves kids.

When the little kids had gone to sleep, Shane, Carrie, Cassie, Tyler, Tess, Ian, Zach, Brian, Matt, Nathan, Lucy, and Sonny had a chance to really use the pool. They played volleyball, Marco Polo, and just shoved each other into the pool for a while.

I noticed Nathan flirting with the twins, but they just thought he was adorable. And not the boyfriend material adorable. He didn't seem to take the hints. Tess seemed to have a thing for Nathan, not that he noticed.

**(A/N: Remember, some of them aren't related. The twins and Tess are related to Sonny. Nathan is not related. Just wanted to make that clear. :P)**

Tyler, Zach, and Ian were like triplets. You couldn't separate them under any circumstances. It makes sense though. They're all 12, after all.

Sonny, Lucy, Brian, and Matt seemed to have a good time shoving each other into the pool. Matt and Sonny especially. He and Brian seemed to only call Sonny, "Allie." Some sort of pet name?

I continued playing my guitar, wondering if Sonny liked him.

'_Pshh, he's not that special. Why would she like __**him**__?' _I told myself.

Even after everyone had gone to sleep, I was lying awake in my bed trying to convince myself of that.

**A/N: Review pretty please? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey! So I totally forgot to explain Lucy's family in the last chapter. I went back in an added it. It's really simple so you didn't miss much. **

**I made a tumblr solely for fanfiction. It's "xdifferentsummers. tumblr. com" without the spaces. I suggest checking that every once in a while or if you have a tumblr, follow it. I'll post little previews and random little comments while I'm writing. Also, I did "character profiles" for the main characters. There's a link on the sidebar of my tumblr.**

**If you have any questions, drop it in my ask box :)**

Sonny'sPOV

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise after the first night at the house. I checked the clock, 6 AM. No one was up yet from what I could tell. The temperature was perfect, so I sat on the balcony outside my room. It was nice to just sit and relax, but it got boring pretty fast. I don't know how the adults can do that all day. So I went inside and brought my guitar out.

Since I was the only one awake, I knew I could play whatever I was feeling and no one would know. But I didn't wanna wake anyone, so I decided to play a soft song. I picked _Give Love A Try _from that show that the Jonas Brothers were on.

_You, you're like drivin' on a Sunday._

_You, you're like takin' off on Monday._

_You, you're like a dream,_

_A dream come true._

_I was a face you never noticed._

_Now, I'm just tryin' to be honest_

_With myself, with you,_

_With the world._

_You might think that I'm a fool_

_For fallin' over you._

_So tell me what can I _

_Do to prove to you_

_That it's not so hard to do?_

_Give love a try,_

_One more time._

'_Cause you know that I'm on your side._

_Give love a try,_

_One more time._

_How did it play out like a movie?_

_Now, every time you speak it moves me._

_And I can't get your smile_

_Off my mind._

_And your eyes, when I saw them for the first time,_

_Knew that I was gonna love you for a long time_

_With a love_

_So real, so right._

_You might think that I'm a fool_

_For fallin' over you._

_So tell me what can I _

_Do to prove to you_

_That it's not so hard to do?_

_Give love a try,_

_One more time._

'_Cause you know that I'm on your side._

_Give love a try,_

_One more time._

_One more time…_

When I finished the song, I sat there for a while just thinking. Then I put my guitar away and decided to go make breakfast.

Within the next hour, everyone was awake. I made several dozen pancakes, bacon, sausages, and eggs. Never have I cooked so much in my life.

When breakfast was over, we took a group vote on what everyone wanted to do that day.

Naturally, all of us teenagers said, "Beach!"

The younger kids agreed with us, because they wanted to play in the sand.

Some of the adults wanted to use the pool, beach, or go grocery shopping to stock up supplies in the house.

So we split into several groups. People staying at the house or using the pool, people who wanted to go to the beach, and people who were going grocery shopping.

My Aunt Natalie, Uncle Jason, Aunt Melody, Uncle Cory, and Mr. & Mrs. Johnson stayed at the house.

Uncle Aaron and Aunt Violet took AJ and Ryan to the beach with Uncle Mitchell and Aunt Hayley with Jenna and Claire.

Brian, Matt, Lucy, Shane, Carrie, Cassie, Nathan, Tess, Ian, Tyler, Zach, Chad, and I all went to the beach.

That just left my mom and my grandmother to go shopping.

Faster than you can say "Last one there is a rotten egg," we hit the beach. Luckily, no one seemed to recognize Chad or myself. The only people on the beach were some adults and their little toddlers. School probably wasn't out for a lot of the kids and teens.

"Can we go wave jumping? Please?" asked the "almost triplets", the twins, Tess, and Nathan simultaneously.

Wave jumping was when you go as far out into the ocean as you want and wait for waves and try not to get caught in the brine. If you do it correctly, the wave picks you up for a few seconds. It's loads of fun.

"Sure, let's go!" Lucy said.

In between waves, we all talked about Hollywood. Well, it was really just everyone asking me and Chad about Hollywood.

"I always knew our little Allie would be famous someday! Isn't that right, Matt?" Brian grinned.

"Yeah! She's one of the funniest girls I know! Now if Lucy over here could do the same…" he smirked.

"Hey! I'm workin' on it!" she said, punching the side of his arm playfully.

"So what's it like in Hollywood? Like, have you met a lot of famous celebrities?" Tess asked.

"Well, she's already met _me_…" Chad smirked.

I just rolled my eyes and splashed him.

"Yeah, I met Chad almost as soon as I started working on So Random. Who else have I met? Let's see. Uhh… Selena Gomez… Trey Brothers… Blake Radisson…"

"You met Trey Brothers and Blake Radisson?" Carrie and Cassie squealed simultaneously.

"Yep," I nodded.

"No way! What were they like? Were they cuter in person?"

"Yeah, they were cute. But they were real jerks. Trey tried to steal my song and Blake was just obnoxious."

"That's Hollywood for ya." Matt said, rolling his eyes.

Then some sort of unspoken alliance was made and the boys decided it would be fun to attack the girls.

Brian, Matt, Shane, and Chad went after me and Lucy while the trio and Nathan terrorized Carrie, Cassie, and Tess.

Matt got me several times until finally I dunked him under. And that sparked the rebellion of the girls against the guys. I managed to get all four of the older boys.

Around 1:30 we decided to go back to the house. Three of us at a time headed back to use the bathrooms and wash off while the rest sat around in the sand just chilling out.

Once we were all back at the house, we talked about school and work experiences as we devoured two whole pizza pies.

Cassie began, "Once, our teacher told us she'd be absent the next day and we'd have this annoying substitute teacher. We'd had him once before and he'd always yell at everyone for—"

"—totally pointless reasons! He wrote up a girl for passing back a textbook to a boy and fake hitting him with it!" Carrie finished for her.

"He's ridiculous! Anyways, we knew he believed in mythical creatures and aliens and all that." Cassie continued.

"So Cassie and her classmates arranged some strange, uh—" Carrie said, pausing to choose the correct word.

"— 'coincidences'—" Cassie filled in.

"—to happen during class." Carrie finished.

"And he didn't know I was a twin! So when he wasn't looking, I texted Carrie to come by and ask to use the pencil sharpener. The look on his face when he saw me sitting in my seat and Carrie at the door was priceless!" Cassie laughed.

"That's not all! He fainted! When he woke up, Cassie and I were standing next to him and he ran out screaming like a little girl!" Carrie said, high-fiving her sister.

As everyone laughed, I glanced over at Chad who gave me a look that said, _'Do they always finished each others' sentences like that?'_

I shrugged and nodded, _'Pretty much.'_

"There's this crazy substitute teacher we have a lot and she told us she has an invisible gnome friend." Nathan said.

We all just looked at him and he continued by saying, "Yep. She told us a leprechaun killed her husband so she hates St. Patrick's Day."

"You guys have strange teachers…" Chad said.

"What's your teacher like, Sonny?" Tess asked.

"Ms. Bitterman? Well, she's single and has a lot of cats if that tells you anything."

"Skyler calls her the ginger bird." Chad laughed.

I looked at him and said, "Seriously? That's—…Totally true."

Everyone just laughed. When we finished our pizza, we split up into new groups. Most went back out to the pool to swim for a little. That left Brian, Matt, Lucy, Chad, and myself inside.

"So… What should we do now?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go practice my guitar," Chad said, walking upstairs.

"Well that's one less person to disagree on an activity with." Matt shrugged.

"I bet I could beat all of you at Mario Karts!" Brian said.

"You're on!" I exclaimed, racing everyone to the game room.

* * *

><p><span>Chad's POV<span>

What a long day. By 8:00 I was already exhausted, but even hours later I was still awake.

After everyone had gone to sleep, I laid awake in my bed. Finally, I decided to play something on my guitar. Maybe music would make me sleepier. So I took my guitar out on the balcony and sat against the wall. I just sat there for a few moments, letting my hands play whatever came to mind.

_Don't you want the way I feel,_

_Don't you want the way I feel,_

_Don't you want the way I feel for you?_

I couldn't remember any other part of the song so I switched.

_I am in misery_

_There ain't nobody_

_Who can comfort me_

_Why won't you answer me?_

_The silence is slowly killing me…_

I didn't bother even finishing the chorus. _'Nah… How about this?'_ I thought to myself.

_What, what kind of fool_

_Tears it apart,_

_Leaving me pain and sorrow?_

_Losing you now…_

_How can I win?_

_Where will I be tomorrow?_

_Forevermore, that's what we are to be,_

_Without each other,_

_We'll be remembering when..._

Surrendering to the lack of sleep, I sighed and put my guitar away. Then I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: I believe you should all review this story to make it better! ...For the children! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Anothah update, WHOO! Sorry this one too so long. I got distracted by my roleplaying situation and reading this scary fanfic. ANYWAYS, I used 3 songs in this chapter. The second song is Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney, but I didn't use all the lyrics. Parts of the song are not heard because Chad and Lucy are talking. It's a beautiful song, and you should look it up if you have the time. Okay. Happy reading!**

Chad's POV

The next few days were exactly like Monday. Beach, pool, hang out. Beach, pool, hang out. Not that I was complaining. The beach was one of the best places to be.

On Thursday morning, I woke up way earlier than I had intended. I eventually got bored of trying to force myself back to sleep. So I got up and opened the balcony door and heard singing.

'_Sonny, again.'_ I told myself. I'd unintentionally heard her on Monday too. So I sat down next to the door and listened to her sweet and melodic voice sing.

_Every time, I think I'm closer to the heart_

_Of what it means to know just who I am._

_I think I've finally found a better place to start,_

_But no one ever seems to understand._

_I need to try to get to where you are._

_Could it be, you're not that far?_

_You're the voice I hear inside my head,_

_The reason that I'm singing._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the missing piece I need,_

_The song inside of me._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the remedy I'm searchin' hard to find,_

_To fix the puzzle that I see inside._

_Painting all my dreams the color of your smile._

_When I find you it will be alright._

_I need to try to get to where you are,_

_Could it be, you're not that far?_

_You're the voice I hear inside my head,_

_The reason that I'm singing._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the missing piece I need,_

_The song inside of me._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_Been feeling lost,_

_Can't find the words to say._

_Spendin' all my time stuck in yesterday._

_Where you are is where I wanna be._

_Oh next to you, and you next to me._

_I need to find you._

_You're the voice I hear inside my head,_

_The reason that I'm singing._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the missing piece I need,_

_The song inside of me._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the voice I hear inside my head,_

_The reason that I'm singing._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_You're the missing piece I need,_

_The song inside of me._

_I need to find you,_

_I gotta find you._

_I gotta find you…_

I wondered who she was singing about, but I didn't dare walk out and ask her. So I just got up from my spot, closed the door, and got ready for the day.

At breakfast, one the adults (Aaron, I think) said, "I saw a poster advertising special events every weeknight until the 4th of July. All of this week was the carnival, but it ends tomorrow. We should go tonight!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with yells of "Yeah!", "Okay!", and "Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, it's settled. What should we do during the day?"

"Beach!" exclaimed the usual people.

He laughed and said, "Alright, let's get to it then!"

* * *

><p>Around 6:45 everyone was rushing around the house getting ready to go to the boardwalk.<p>

"C'mon! Let's get movin'!" Connie yelled over the commotion as we piled into the cars.

We were reached the boardwalk in 5 minutes, but it took us 10 minutes to find good parking.

Finally, we parked and made it to the carnival. The boardwalk smelled like cotton candy, popcorn, and all your general carnival food. At the very back of the designated area, there was a stage with live music.

"Okay, so let's split into groups. I'm sure all the teens wanna go off on their own," Connie said, looking at us, "Just stay in groups."

Then the adults and little kids went off on their own. The twins, Nathan, and Tess immediately ran off in one direction while Zach, Tyler, and Ian went in another.

"We should probably keep an eye on them," Sonny said.

Brian and Shane nodded and said, "No problem."

"I'll follow my brother, Zach, and Ian." Shane said, heading off in their direction.

"And I'll go after Nathan, Tess, and the twins. Should I meet up with you guys later?" Brian said.

Sonny replied, "Yeah, we'll call if we need to find you or something."

"A'ight," he said. Then he walked in the direction of his group.

That just left Sonny, Lucy, Matt, and me.

"So what should we do first?" Lucy asked.

"Well, it looks like on this end there's just games. Let's go play some!" Sonny said.

We played a bunch of games for the next two hours.

There was one game where you shoot water at a target and try to be the first to light up the whole meter. Sonny won a realistic-looking plastic snake. "I'll give it to Zora when we get back!" she laughed.

There was another game where you try to bounce ping pong balls into a pool of floating dishes. Surprisingly, Lucy won. Her prize was a poster of Blake Radisson. "…Wanna help me draw all over it later?" she asked Sonny who laughed and nodded eagerly.

We played a few more games where none of us won anything. Then we reached a game where you throw darts and try to pop balloons.

"Aww! Look at that!" Sonny said, pointing to a stuffed animal cow holding a small dry erase board that currently read, '_I'm not cute? That's udderly ridiculous!'_

While they were laughing, I paid the guy at the booth and he handed me five darts. I took aim at an orange balloon straight ahead and threw the dart… Missing the balloon by half an inch. Aiming again, I tried for a yellow balloon that I had almost hit. Missed again. I managed to hit balloons with two of my three remaining darts and won a mini stuffed turtle.

I shrugged to the three standing behind me and said, "Maybe I'll give it to my cousin next time I see her. She's obsessed with turtles."

"You were so good at darts on our date that one ti—" Sonny began, before realizing it was actually Chaz, "Nevermind."

Lucy and Matt looked a little confused and just shrugged at each other.

Sonny, Lucy, and I tried the game several more times with no success. 10 minutes and $20 later, Matt stepped up and played. He popped a balloon with every dart he threw. He turned around and smiled at Sonny while handing her the stuffed cow.

"Aww! Thanks, Matt!" she said, hugging him.

"No prob, Allie," he said, hugging her back.

An awkward silence followed their hug. I glanced at Sonny who was still smiling at Matt.

"So… Is anyone hungry? There's a food stand just over there." Lucy said, pointing to the short line of people ordering snacks.

"Yeah, a little. Let's get something." Sonny said, following Lucy.

Twenty minutes later, the four of us were sitting at a round table near the stage with a plate of funnel cake.

"Ugh, that song is terrible! If Bruno Mars has enough time catch a grenade for a girl, she has time to move! If he knows her eyes are open when they're kissing, don't his eyes have to be open too?" Matt rolled his eyes at the girls' debate.

"What? It's a cute song!" Sonny exclaimed, taking a piece of funnel cake.

"Speaking of terrible songs, have you heard that 13 year old named Rebecca Black and her song _Friday_?" Lucy asked.

"I love that song!" Matt said.

"How can you like that song? A kindergartener could have written it! You have no taste in music!" Sonny laughed, throwing a piece of funnel cake at Matt.

"It's better than some overly cheesy love song!" he chuckled, throwing a piece at Sonny.

They continued debating over random topics until we ran out of food.

"Oh, look! There's a ferris wheel! Can we go on it? Please, please, pleaaasseee?" Sonny begged.

"Sure, Allie! What about you guys?" Matt asked.

"Fine with me!" Lucy replied.

"Yeah, let's go." I said, trying to convince myself that it wasn't that high up.

When it was our turn to get on, the band onstage said, "We're gonna play a slower song next. Gotta rest up if you wanna keep that energy flowin'! I'm sure a lot of you will be familiar with this next song, J-Mac's _Just So You Know_!"

_I shouldn't love you, but I want to._

_I just can't turn away._

I watched as Sonny and Matt got into the first bench.

_I shouldn't see you, but I can't move._

_I can't look away._

"Chad… CHAD! You're holding up the line! Are you coming or not?" Lucy asked rolling her eyes at me.

I sat down next to her and closed my eyes.

_And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not._

_'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop._

"What was that about?" she asked me in a loud whisper.

"What do you mean?" I whispered back, confusedly.

"You know what I mean. You were staring at Sonny!" she almost screamed.

"…I was?"

"Yes! You still like her don't you?"

"That's ridicu—" I began.

She glared at me and I said, "…Yes."

"I knew it! Why don't you just tell her?"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

_It's getting hard to be around you_

_There's so much I can't say._

_Do you want me to hide the feelings_

_And look the other way?_

"Because I think she likes your brother!"

_Just so you know,_

_This feeling's taking control of me_

_And I can't help it._

"What? Ew! No she doesn't! I'm sure she still likes you."

_Thought you should know,_

_I've tried my best to let go of you,_

_But I don't want to._

"How can you be so sure? You've seen the way they flirt!" I said quietly.

She sat there thinking for a few moments as the band continued playing.

_This emptiness is killing me_

_And I'm wondering why I've waited so long._

_Looking back I realize,_

_It was always there just never spoken._

_I'm waiting here... Been waiting here._

"Ew! She _does_ like him!" Lucy said with a terrified look on her face.

I sighed and said, "What do I do then?"

_I won't sit around, I can't let him win now._

"Tell her, you moron! She'll realize it's _you_ she likes."

"You really think so?"

She just nodded and fell silent, letting me think about what I should do.

_Thought you should know,_

_I've tried my best to let go of you,_

_But I don't want to._

_I just gotta say it all_

_Before I go._

_Just so you know._

Finally we made it back to the bottom of the ferris wheel where Sonny and Matt were waiting with Brian, Shane, and the rest of their groups.

"Hey, guys!" Lucy said when we reached them.

"What do you guys wanna do now?" Shane asked everyone.

Just then, something shot up into the sky and exploded in a burst of colorful light.

"Whoa, fireworks!" Tess exclaimed as the band began playing their next song.

_Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,_

_Drifting through the wind wanting to start again?_

_Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin,_

_Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?_

_Do you ever feel already buried deep?_

_6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing._

_Do you know that there's still a chance for you?_

_'Cause there's a spark in you._

_You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine._

_Just own the night like the 4th of July._

_'Cause baby you're a firework!_

_Come on, show 'em what you're worth!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_As you shoot across the sky-y-y!_

_Baby, you're a firework!_

_Come on, let your colors burst!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_You're gonna leave 'em goin' "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_You don't have to feel like a waste of space._

_You're original, cannot be replaced._

_If you only knew what the future holds,_

_After a hurricane comes a rainbow._

_Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed,_

_So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road._

_Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow._

_And when it's time, you'll know._

_You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine._

_Just own the night like the 4th of July._

_'Cause baby you're a firework!_

_Come on, show 'em what you're worth!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_As you shoot across the sky-y-y!_

_Baby, you're a firework!_

_Come on, let your colors burst!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_You're gonna leave 'em goin' "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_Boom, boom, boom!_

_Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon!_

_It's always been inside of you, you, you,_

_And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough!_

_'Cause baby you're a firework!_

_Come on, show 'em what you're worth!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_As you shoot across the sky-y-y!_

_Baby, you're a firework!_

_Come on, let your colors burst!_

_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_You're gonna leave 'em goin' "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_Boom, boom, boom!_

_Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon!_

_Boom, boom, boom!_

_Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon!_

During the song, we'd made our way towards the stage while looking up at the sky and watching the fireworks.

Each one was perfectly in sync with the song, punctuating each line.

I watched how excited and happy Sonny was about the fireworks. How Matt put his arm around her shoulder as they walked and how she let him keep it there.

I glanced over at Lucy who gave me a look that said, _'You better make your move soon.'_

I knew she was right. But tonight just wasn't the right time.

After the fireworks had ended, we rejoined the adults and headed back to the cars. Within the next hour and a half, everyone was cleaned up and in bed.

I contemplated going to talk to Sonny, but decided against it. It had been a long day, and I didn't know how much more I could take. So I simply slid into my bed and fell into another dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Review prettay puh-leaseeeeee? :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm working on another mini fanfic and my English project. And I got sidetracked by the Harry Potter marathon. :P This chapter is a little boring in my opinion, but that might be just from working on it for so long. In the next chapter or two chapters from now, it'll get more exciting, I promise. :D **

**Oh and... Pleasedon'tkillmeforusingaBiebersong. I used to looooovvveee him. He's alright now I guess. But this song worked so perfectly so... Yup. See for yourself!**

Sonny's POV

Thursday evening was one of the most fun nights I'd had in a long time. For the first time in a while, I enjoyed a night out with friends. Since I'd broken up with Chad, I didn't feel like doing much of anything. If I _did_ go out for the evening, it was usually with my castmates to The Patio.

The carnival was more fun than any date I could remember. I hadn't been on a date since Chad and I broke up... Wait, did I say date? It was _so_ not a date. If it was a date, who was it with? Matt? Don't get me wrong, I love Matt, but not like that. He and Brian are like the older brothers I never had.

My point is, I had a lot of fun at the carnival.

Friday started out just like all the days before it. We divided into groups for swimming, beach, and just hanging around the house.

Before dinner, my Uncle Jason suggested some of us should go mini golfing after we eat.

After dinner, all of the adults stayed home with the little kids while Brian drove us. After half an hour of driving and singing loud and awkwardly, we reached the golf course. The theme was a jungle adventure. It didn't look like too many people were there. I guess they were all at the carnival.

The courses were arranged in the colors of the rainbow. Red was on the far right, followed by orange. Yellow was in the middle with green on the left. On the other side of green, was blue. Purple was last on the far left.

Shane took Zach, Tyler, and Ian on the blue course. Carrie, Cassie, Nathan, and Tess went on the green course with Chad. Yes, _the_ Chad Dylan Cooper actually volunteered to go with them. Brian, Matt, Lucy, and I went on the yellow course.

The courses were set up so they weaved in and out of different jungle structures. Every once in a while you'd be able to see one of the other courses next to the one you were on.

Once we split up into our groups, we headed to our courses.

Chad's POV

I never knew I could suck so badly at mini golf.

I watched the Sonny's group while I waited for my turn. Brian made it under par. Lucy was pretty good too. She exactly made par. Now, Matt… I really didn't like that guy. He was more perfect than I anticipated. He got a hole in one on the very first hole.

When it was Sonny's putt, it was also my turn. It took me 16 shots to make it in. By my 10th hit, I just told the twins, Nathan, and Tess to wait for me at the next hole.

When I finished my turn, Sonny's group was already at the next hole.

I watched as Cassie took her turn. She was doing fairly well, according to the scorecard Carrie was keeping. But when it was her turn, Carrie was having trouble.

"Wait, your club isn't lined up." Nathan said, attempting to help her.

I guess mini golfing skills run in his family.

While he was helping her position herself, I noticed Tess was looking at Nathan with a frustrated expression. Cassie just laughed at the sight of the younger boy trying to help her sister.

When I looked over at the blue course, I saw that Tyler and Ian were having a sword fight with the golf clubs while Shane tried to break them apart.

I glanced over at Sonny's course and saw Matt was helping her. He was using that same cliché move that Nathan was trying and failing to do with Carrie. He was standing behind Sonny with his arms around hers to help her line up the putt. Unfortunately, Matt was much more successful with Sonny than Nathan was with Carrie.

Sonny was a mix of bashful and flirty whereas Carrie was attempting not to laugh in Nathan's face.

At the next hole, the same thing happened again.

Suddenly, Cassie and Carrie simultaneously said, "Aww! I love this song!"

"What is it?" I asked them, listening closely.

"It's _That Should Be Me_ by Justin Bieber," Tess said.

Nathan looked at me and rolled his eyes, then took his turn. I was right in the same boat. Bieber's overrated. But I gotta admit, he definitely knows how to impress girls. I listened carefully to the song while watching everyone.

_Everybody's laughin' in my mind._

_Rumors spreadin' 'bout this other guy._

_Do you do what you did when you did with me?_

_Does he love you the way I can?_

_Did you forget all the plans that you made with me?_

'_Cause, baby, I didn't._

_That should be me holdin' your hand._

_That should be me makin' you laugh._

_That should be me, this is so sad._

_That should be me._

_That should be me._

_That should be me feelin' your kiss._

_That should be me buyin' you gifts._

_This is so wrong, I can't go on _

'_Til you believe_

_That, that should be me._

_That should be me._

_You said you needed time from my mistakes._

_It's funny how you used that time to have me replaced._

_Did you think that I wouldn't see you out at the movies?_

_What you doin' to me?_

_You're takin' him where we used to go._

_Now if you're tryin' to break my heart,_

_It's workin' 'cause you know._

_That, that should be me holdin' your hand._

_That should be me makin' you laugh._

_That should be me this is so sad._

_That should be me._

_That should be me._

_That should be me feelin' your kiss._

_That should be me buyin' you gifts._

_This is so wrong, I can't go on_

'_Til you believe_

_That should be me._

_I need to know, should I fight for love_

_Or disarm?_

_It's getting harder to shield_

_This pain in my heart._

_That should be me holdin' your hand._

_That should be me makin' you laugh._

_That should be me this is so sad._

_That should be me._

_That should be me._

_That should be me feelin' your kiss._

_That should be me buyin' you gifts._

_This is so wrong, I can't go on_

'_Til you believe_

_That, that should be me_

_Holdin' your hand._

_That, that should be me._

_The one makin' you laugh_

_That should be me._

_That should be me givin' you flowers_

_That should be me talkin' for hours_

_That should be me._

_That should be me._

_That should be me._

_Never should've let you go._

_I never should've let you go._

_That should be me_

_I never should've let you go._

_That should be me._

Amazingly, he knew exactly how I felt. I wished it was me, not Matt, who was laughing with Sonny. I regretted letting go of her.

I went through the rest of the night with barely any emotion. Even when I came in last out of _everyone_, I felt nothing. Fortunately, everyone was having a good time, so nobody asked any questions.

By the time we returned to the house, I'd stopped talking altogether. I just went straight up to my room. I started writing a song, but it was depressing me even more. After about an hour or so, I gave up. Finally, I just decided I'd go to sleep and wake up in a better mood in the morning.

**A/N: Review pleaseeeee? :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I was reading The Iliad. Good news, I finished it! :D I'm starting the essay tomorrow, but don't worry. Originally, this chapter was so long, that I had to split it into two chapters. Which means I have chapter 7 already written. By the way, y**ou'll understand in the next chapter why I reference _The Hunger Games_ all the time.** ****Enjoy!**

Sonny's POV

Sunday morning, I woke up in a great mood. The day before, we'd hung out at the beach for most of the day and just relaxed. It was still early, so I decided to take my guitar out on the balcony again.

The mornings I hadn't practiced I'd spent reading. I'd finished _The Hunger Games _on the plane, and finished the sequel, _Catching Fire_, on Wednesday. I was about halfway through the last book, _Mockingjay_.

Sitting on the balcony, I positioned my guitar and played the first song that came to mind: _Catch Me_ by Demi Lovato.

_Before I fall too fast,_

_Kiss me quick,_

_But make it last._

_So I can see how badly this will hurt me,_

_When you say, "Goodbye."_

_Keep it sweet,_

_Keep it slow._

_Let the future pass,_

_And don't let go._

_But tonight I could fall too soon,_

_Under this beautiful moonlight._

_But you're so hypnotizing,_

_You got me laughing while I sing,_

_You got me smiling in my sleep._

_And I can see this unraveling._

_And your love is where I'm falling._

_But please don't catch me._

_You see this heart,_

_Won't settle down._

_Like a child running scared from a clown._

_I'm terrified of what you'll do._

_My stomach screams just when I look at you._

_Run far away,_

_So I can breathe._

_Even though you're far from suffocating me._

_I can't set my hopes too high,_

_'Cause every hello ends with a goodbye._

_But you're so hypnotizing,_

_You got me laughing while I sing,_

_You got me smiling in my sleep._

_And I can see this unraveling._

_And your love is where I'm falling._

_But please don't catch me._

_So now you see_

_Why I'm scared._

_I can't open up my heart without a care._

_But here I go._

_It's what I feel._

_And for the first time in my life I know it's real._

_But you're so hypnotizing,_

_You got me laughing while I sing,_

_You got me smiling in my sleep._

_And I can see this unraveling._

_And your love is where I'm falling._

_But please don't catch me._

_And if this is love,_

_Please don't break me._

_I'm giving up,_

_So just catch me._

I took my guitar back inside and set it in the case before getting ready for the day ahead of me.

At breakfast, my mom reminded us about our plans for the evening.

"Don't forget, we're celebrating Claire's birthday tonight," she said to Lucy, Matt, Chad, and I.

"Right! I still need to buy her present," I said.

"So do we," Matt added.

"We should go shopping after breakfast, then!" Lucy grinned.

So that's just what we did. At around 10:30, the four of us arrived at a small outlet mall.

We spent about an hour just looking through stores for ourselves. After going through about 10 stores, we all ended up buying a pair of sunglasses. Lucy and I got matching "Darren Criss" pink sunglasses. Matt's sunglasses were dark green and Chad got a jet black pair.

"Where should we look now?" I asked, sliding my sunglasses to the top of my head.

"Hmm… Hey, Allie! There's a Disney store over there. Doesn't Claire love Disney?" Matt suggested.

"Yeah, she does. Let's go!" I said, walking towards it.

As we entered the store, our ears filled with music from the classic Disney film, _The Little Mermaid_.

"Aww! Remember this song, Sonny? It was our favorite!"

I responded by singing and dancing along to the music as Lucy joined me. Matt and Chad just laughed hysterically. Luckily, the store wasn't too crowded.

After about 20 minutes, I found the perfect gift for Claire. I'd decided to buy her a Cinderella costume since I knew it was her favorite movie.

As I stood in line, Lucy kept looking around and Chad stood near the door, checking his phone.

"Uh… Sonny, you should see this," he said in a worried tone.

Matt took my place in line and I walked over to see what Chad was looking at.

"Skyler just texted me a link to this Tween Weekly article called _Channy 2.0?_"

"Oh no…" I said, as he handed me his phone.

The article read,

'_Earlier this week, CDC was spotted with Miss Sonny Munroe in North Carolina. It seems as though they were with her family. Could the two teen stars be vacationing together? Does this mean Channy 2.0? We sure hope so!'_

Following the article were several pictures of my family, Lucy's family, Chad, and I arriving at the airport.

I groaned under my breath and handed Chad his phone. Matt and Lucy joined us as we left the store.

Matt handed me the bag containing the costume I'd gotten for Claire.

"Thanks. How much do I owe you?" I asked him.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," he replied, smiling.

"I can't let you pay for it! How much was it?" I said, reaching for the receipt in his hand.

He simply stuffed the receipt in his pocket and grinned at me. I punched his arm playfully before thanking him again.

* * *

><p><span>Chad's POV<span>

As the sun began to set, the birthday party began. Jenna, AJ, Claire, Lucy, Brian, and Shane played bingo in the living room. **(A/N: Ryan was asleep in case you're wondering.) **The adults took over the dining room to talk and play their own game, _Taboo_. The unofficial triplets (Tyler, Ian, and Zach), locked themselves in the game room to play Call of Duty. The twins, Nathan, Tess, Sonny, and Matt ruled the pool area.

I decided to stay out of their way, so I sat up on the balcony overlooking the pool area. I strummed my guitar as I watched everyone below.

Nathan unsuccessfully flirted with Carrie and Cassie. Tess kept trying to get Nathan's attention, but he barely noticed. I noticed Sonny was having fun with Matt. He'd push her in, she'd splash and attack him, you get the point. I just sat up there and watched for a while.

"Do ya see something you like out there?" a voice said from behind me.

I turned around and saw Sonny's grandmother, Eleanor.

I looked at her with a surprised expression and she said, "Don't give me that look, pretty boy. I already know you've got your eye on her. Have you asked her out yet?"

"It's kind of complicated…"

"I've got time," she said, bringing a chair out and setting it next to mine.

Then I told her everything. How Sonny and I dated, how we broke up, and what happened on the vacation up until that point.

"Well, you better get a move on if you want her back," she said.

"But she likes Matt."

"You don't know that for sure. You'll never know unless you try."

And with that, she headed back inside. I sat for a few more minutes before I convinced myself to head downstairs and talk to Sonny.

When I got downstairs, I saw everyone who was using the pool race upstairs to get to the showers first.

'_Guess I'll wait until she comes back downstairs…'_ I thought to myself.

I made my way to the living room to see what they were doing. It looked like everyone was still playing bingo except for Shane who was watching ESPN and texting someone.

"Hey, man," I said, sitting down on the couch.

"Hey. S'up?" he replied.

"Nothin' much, you?"

"Same… So did you ask out Sonny yet?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I sighed.

"Dude, it's pretty obvious."

I gave him a look that said, _'Really?'_

"Okay, so… Maybe Lucy told me about it."

"She's too busy with Matt," I said, shaking my head.

"Matt keeps her distracted. You gotta get her attention."

I stared blankly at the TV, trying to think of ways to start a conversation with Sonny.

Then Claire ran up to me and said, "Shaneee! Chaddy! Guess what!"

"What's up, kiddo?" Shane asked.

"I got bingo!"

I smiled at her and said, "Good job, birthday girl."

Then she skipped happily back to the table.

Shane and I just looked at each other, laughed, and went back to watching the game.

Sonny's POV

I walked down the stairs and looked around. I was the first one of the pool group to get downstairs.

I looked through the open door of the living room. The little kids and Lucy were still playing bingo. Chad and Shane were in deep conversation about something on TV. I figured the three 12 year olds were still in the game room. I could hear the adults laughing from the dining room.

I decided to go up to my room and read some more of _Mockingjay_.

I sat on the bed for about 20 minutes just listening to my iPod and reading. Then I heard the door open and looked up from my book to see my mom walk in.

"Hi, sweetie. Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I replied, going back to my book.

"Everything okay with you and Chad?"

"Yup… Why do you ask?"

"It just seems like things are different with you two."

"Well it's always a _little_ awkward after you break up with someone. And even more so when your mom invites them on vacation with you."

"I'm sorry, honey. I thought you'd like having him around, considering you still like him."

"How do you know?" I said putting my book down again.

"I'm your mother. I know everything about you," she said as she sat down on the bed next to me.

"So you know about my bellybutton piercing?"

"Your _what_?"

"Kidding, mom," I said rolling my eyes as she gave me _the look_.

"Seriously, Sonny. Do you still have feelings for Chad?"

"I don't know… Maybe?"

"You need to talk to him about it. I'm sure he still has feelings for you too," she said, kissing the top of my head before she left.

I thought for a few moments before putting my bookmark in _Mockingjay_ and heading back downstairs.

**A/N: Chad: Make sure they remember to review.**

**They don't _have_ to...**

**Chad: Yes. They _do. _Or I'm taking over your fanfiction. You make me look like a dork, anyways.**

**You _are_ a dork.**

**Chad: *glares***

***sigh* ****You heard him. Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: The next chapter might be on delay for a little. I still need to write my essay and I haven't even started yet. Anyways, enjoy!**

Sonny's POV

"We're going to cut the cake outside now!" my Uncle Mitchell said.

Everyone filed out to the back of the house where the cake was placed on a table. We gathered around the table took a bunch of pictures before singing _Happy Birthday_ to Claire. She blew out all the candles and the cake was distributed.

After I'd finished my piece of cake, I ran upstairs and grabbed my guitar. Then I went back outside and saw Chad sitting over on one side of the pool near the bushes.

I walked over to him and said, "Hey Chad."

He looked up and said, "Oh, hey."

"Mind if I sit with you?" I asked.

"Not at all," he said, moving a chair for me.

"So… How're you liking vacation so far? Having fun?" I asked him.

"It's been… Interesting," he replied, smiling a bit.

I smiled back and said, "Listen… I know things have been a little… Different between you and me… And I think I'd like to change that."

He looked at me and said, "Really?"

"Yeah…" I nodded.

He began with, "Do you think maybe we could…"

"Start over?" I asked.

"Yeah… I'm willing to if you are," he said, looking into my eyes.

"Good," I said, nodding.

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

I broke our gaze and looked out at the beach where the stars shined brightest.

Looking back at him, I said, "So, uh… I was reading this book called _Mockingjay _earlier—"

"Ew, we're on vacation and you're reading? Gross," he smirked.

"Yes, I was reading," I said, making a face at him.

He just laughed as I continued, "One of the main character's had his memories messed with and I just got to this part where they're playing a kind of game to help him re-learn things about the people around him. It's called, '_Real or Not Real?' _…I thought maybe we could use the game to get to know each other better if you want…"

"Sounds like a good plan. Do you want to go first?" he asked.

"Sure, um… Your favorite color is blue. Real or not real?"

"Real," he smiled. "Your favorite color is purple, real or not real?"

"Not real. I love purple, but my favorite color is yellow," I laughed.

"Really? I just assumed you liked purple since you seem to wear it all the time."

"Oh, I never noticed I did that…" I said as I blushed.

"Okay, uh… You're an only child. Real or not real?"

"Real. _You're_ an only child. Real or not real?"

"Real. Real or not real: You've dated all the leading ladies on Mackenzie Falls."

"Real. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I dated Portlyn," he said, rolling his eyes.

I simply laughed and waiting for him to think of something to ask me.

After a few moments, he said, "Real or not real: You li—"

"Sonny! Sonny!" I heard a voice say. I turned and saw Claire running towards me.

"Hey, Claire!" I said when she reached us.

"Whatcha doin'?" she chirped.

"Just talking with Chad. What's up?" I smiled.

"Can you play a song?" she asked, pointing to my guitar.

"Yeah, Allie! Can you play something for us?" Matt yelled from the other side of the pool.

I rolled my eyes at Matt and told Claire, "Anything for the birthday girl."

I turned to Chad and said, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all, go ahead," he said, smiling softly.

Walking over to the large group with Claire, I asked her, "What do you want me to play?"

"Umm… Something from Camp Rock or Disney!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"You've seen Camp Rock?"

"Yeah! Zach and Jenna watched it, so I watched with them!"

"Alrighty, have you seen the second one?" I asked, having the perfect song to describe my feelings.

She nodded quickly and grinned.

"Okay, I'll play one from there."

I sat down and started setting up my guitar, making sure it was tuned. Looking around, I noticed that most of the dads were inside, watching something on ESPN I guessed. The moms were sitting around the edges of the hot tub and talking. The little kids, Lucy, Shane, Brian, and Matt had glow sticks out and ran around in the little patch of grass behind the pool. Claire grabbed hers off the table and ran to join them.

When I'd finished tuning my guitar, I began playing.

_We're like a melody with no words._

_Until we figure it out_

_We sing, "La la la la. La la."_

_I know it's simple, yeah, but it's worked_

_Right up till now._

'_Cause up till now_

_Everyday's been like a dream world._

_But now you're not just in my head, oh no._

_Will we remember_

_Different summers?_

_It's like tossing your heart to_

_See where it lands._

_Heads it's easy,_

_Tails it's harder to plan._

_If we're starting all over again,_

_And again, and again._

_You know that I can't help but wonder_

_What's gonna happen next._

_I'm a little curious._

_Every star that I stood under,_

_When you were under it too,_

_Did you ever think about us?_

_I hope you did 'cause I can tell you,_

_That's something I'll never forget._

_I won't forget._

_Will we remember_

_Different summers?_

_It's like tossing your heart to_

_See where it lands._

_Heads it's easy,_

_Tails it's harder to plan._

_If we're starting all over again._

_Only friends_

_Just beginning,_

_But I hope that we find it again._

_So we can_

_Go from here._

_Will we remember_

_Different summers?_

_It's like tossing your heart to_

_See where it lands._

_Heads it's easy,_

_Tails it's harder to plan._

_If we're starting all over again._

_Again, and again,_

_And again, and again._

_Again, and again, and again._

_Will we remember_

_Different summers?_

By the time I finished the song, I was in a trance, thinking about Chad and how much I meant the words I'd sung. The moms, Matt, Lucy, Brian, Shane, and Chad all clapped, breaking me out of the trance. I grinned at them all when Claire ran back over to me.

"Can you play another, please?" she grinned.

"Sure! Do you wanna pick this time?"

"Can you play the one when Shane and Mitchie sing?"

"Yeah, but I need someone to sing Shane's part."

Then she proceeded to skip over to Chad saying, "Can you sing Shane's part in the song Sonny's going to play for me?"

Chad's POV

When Claire asked me to sing with Sonny, how could I say no? I followed her over to Sonny and asked, "Do you want me to play this one?"

"If you want to," she replied, offering her guitar to me.

I took her guitar, traded places, and began the song.

_It's like he doesn't hear a word I say,_

_His mind is somewhere far away._

_And I don't know how to get there._

_It's like-_

_(She's way too serious,)_

_-All he wants is to chill out._

_(She's always in a rush.)_

_Makes me wanna pull all my-_

_(And interrupting,)_

_-Hair out._

_Like he doesn't even care._

_(Like she doesn't even care.)_

_You,_

_Me,_

_We're face to face,_

_But we don't see eye to eye._

_We're like fire and rain,_

_(Like fire and rain,)_

_You can drive me insane,_

_(You can drive me insane,)_

_But I can't stay mad at you for anything._

_We're Venus and Mars._

_(Venus and Mars.)_

_We're like different stars._

_(Like different stars.)_

_But you're the harmony to every song I sing._

_And I wouldn't change a thing._

_She's always trying to save the day._

_Just wanna let my music play._

_She's all or nothing,_

_But my feelings never change._

_Why does he try to read my mind?_

_(I try to read her mind,)_

_It's not good to psychoanalyze._

_(She tries to pick a fight,_

_To get attention,)_

_That's what all of my friends say._

_You,_

_Me,_

_We're face to face,_

_But we don't see eye to eye._

_We're like fire and rain,_

_(Like fire and rain,)_

_You can drive me insane,_

_(You can drive me insane,)_

_But I can't stay mad at you for anything._

_We're Venus and Mars._

_(Venus and Mars.)_

_We're like different stars._

_(Like different stars.)_

_But you're the harmony to every song I sing._

_And I wouldn't change a thing._

_When I'm yes, she's no._

_When I hold on he just let's go._

_We're perfectly imperfect._

_But I wouldn't change a thing, no._

_We're like fire and rain,_

_(Like fire and rain,)_

_You can drive me insane,_

_(You can drive me insane,)_

_But I can't stay mad at you for anything._

_We're Venus and Mars._

_(Venus and Mars.)_

_We're like different stars._

_(Like different stars.)_

_You're the harmony to every song I sing._

_And I wouldn't change a thing._

_But I can't stay mad at you for anything._

_We're Venus and Mars._

_(Venus and Mars.)_

_We're like different stars._

_(Like different stars.)_

_But you're the harmony to every song I sing._

_And I wouldn't change a,_

_Wouldn't change a thing._

I hadn't noticed that I'd been looking into Sonny's eyes the whole time we were singing.

She broke our gaze and blushed lightly as everyone applauded.

Claire ran up and hugged Sonny, then me. She asked me, "Can you play more music?"

I smiled and said, "Yeah, anything you want, kiddo!"

"Can you play a song from The Jonas Brothers' show?"

"You're in luck, because I only know one song from their show."

"Yay! Thank you, Chaddy!" she squealed, and ran back to the rest of the group trying to catch fireflies.

Sonny raised an eyebrow at me and said, "So what are you gonna play, 'Chaddy'?"

I just rolled my eyes and started playing.

_They say you'll know_

_When you really find the one,_

_But it's hard to tell_

_With the damage that's been done._

_But I'd like to say that it's your fault_

_But I know better._

_'Cause I'm a fool to think_

_You'd wait around forever._

_Maybe I could have loved you._

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you_

_More than you could know._

_Don't say it's too late to try_

_To make it right._

_Oh, to make it right._

_I didn't know_

_How good you were for me._

_Now it's clear,_

_I'm seeing all that we could be._

_And I know that it's my fault,_

_But I'm gonna treat you better._

_'Cause if I had one wish,_

_You'd be with me forever._

_Maybe I could have loved you._

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you_

_More than you could know._

_Don't say it's too late to try_

_To make it right._

_Is there something I could say?_

_Show me how to break it down._

_So before you walk away,_

_Take the time to turn around._

_Listen to me now._

_Maybe I could have loved you._

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you_

_More than you could know._

_Don't say it's too late to try._

_Maybe I could have loved you._

_Maybe I could have shown_

_That I still do care about you_

_More than you could know._

_Don't say it's too late to try_

_To make it right._

_Oh, to make it right._

_Make it right._

_Gonna make it right._

Earlier, I'd built up the courage to ask Sonny out, but being face to face with her made it all go away. I didn't know how to explain how I felt, so I went along with her plan.

I meant every word of the songs I'd sang that night, and I hoped she knew it.

The rest of the night was relatively uneventful in comparison. When the younger kids had gone inside, I played a few more songs for the teens. Eventually everyone got tired out and headed to their rooms. As soon as I got into my bed, I fell asleep almost instantly.

**A/N: Poor Chaddy. *sadface* What do you think his last "Real or Not Real" was? Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I think there will be 3 more chapters. 4 at the most, if I split one of them. This chapter's a bit short, but I always knew it would be. Something HUGE happens in this chapter though. What are you doing? See for yourself!**

**PS. If you wanted to know, Chad's question for Sonny would've been, "Real or not real, you like Matt?" 'Kay, now read!**

Sonny's POV

After Claire's party, Monday and Tuesday went by fairly quickly. Nothing major happened either of those days… Unless you count Nathan being pinched by a hermit crab and flailing around the beach while Carrie, Cassie, and Tess laughed hysterically. Other than that, nothing.

When I woke up on Wednesday, I had the strong urge to play my guitar. So I silently took it out of the case and sat on the balcony. Without even thinking about it, I began playing.

_You've got a face for a smile y'know._

_A shame you waste it when you're breaking me slowly._

_But I've got a world of chances for you._

_I've got a world of chances for you._

_I've got a world of chances for you_

_Chances that you're burning through._

_I've got a paper and pen._

_I got to write a goodbye,_

_And that's when I know_

_I've got a world of chances for you._

_I've got a world of chances for you._

_I've got a world of chances for you,_

_Chances that you're burning through._

_Oh I'm going my own way._

_My faith has lost its strength again._

_Oh, it's been too hard to say_

_We're falling off the edge again._

_We're at an end._

_We're at an end._

_Maybe you'll call me someday._

_Hear the operator say the number's no good_

_And that she had a world of chances for you._

_She had a world of chances for you._

_She had a world of chances for you_

_Chances that you're burning through._

_Chances that you're burning through._

_Chances that you're burning through._

_You've got a face for a smile y'know._

Starting over with Chad at the party meant new chances. I hoped this time around, we wouldn't run out.

The skies were a bit cloudy that morning, but that didn't stop everyone from being outside. After breakfast, instead of swimming, I sat on the beach and continued reading _Mockingjay_.

"Allie! Stop reading and put down that book!" Brian shouted, running towards me to grab a towel.

"Yeah, Sonny! The water's great!" Lucy yelled, following Brian with Shane and Chad.

"C'mon, Allie!" Matt agreed, running past Lucy.

"Nah, maybe later. I'm not in the mood right now," I laughed, throwing towels to them as I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head.

"Psh, leave it to Sonny to read on summer vacation at the beach," Chad said, rolling his eyes and drying his hair with a towel.

Just then, two guys holding surfboards and flyers came up to us.

"Hey, there's a party on the beach tonight. Hope you all can come!" the tall brown haired boy said as the beach blonde handed a flyer to me. Then they continued on their way to the next group.

After reading over the flyer, I said, "This sounds like fun! A bonfire, surfing, dancing—"

"We should go!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Where are we going?" Nathan asked, walking towards us with the twins, Tess, Ian, Tyler, and Zach.

"I don't know about you, but _we_ are going to this beach bonfire tonight," Brian told him.

"What if we wanna come?" Tyler asked.

"You can't. High school and college students only," Matt said, reading the flyer over my shoulder.

"Yes!" Carrie and Cassie exclaimed, simultaneously high-fiving each other.

"Psh. Forget you guys, we're taking over the game room tonight!" Zach said, smirking.

"Don't you guys do that every night?" Shane asked.

"…Maybe," Ian said before running off with Zach and Tyler.

"I guess we'll just take over the pool then," Tess suggested, looking at Nathan.

"Yeah!" He grinned at her.

The twins ran back towards the ocean and he shouted, "Hey! Wait up!" threw his towel down, then ran after them, Tess following him.

It took a lot of convincing before our parents gave us all permission. They kept asking if there would be adult chaperones, who was throwing the party, and such. But finally, they agreed.

That evening around 7:30, we made our way to the beach. Tiki torches lined the beach and were being lit one by one as the sun began to set. Several little shacks made of bamboo were handing out refreshments near the volleyball nets. In the center was a huge bonfire. In a certain section of the party area, there was a large group of teens dancing to music being played in a DJ booth.

Looking around, I saw that everyone was wearing leis and Hawaiian attire. The bonfire was blazing and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

The twins ran over to the volleyball nets and joined in with some soon-to-be-sophomores like themselves.

There was a whole separate area for the college students, so Brian headed in that direction when we reached the shore.

"What should we do?" I asked them.

Shane and Matt looked at each other, then at Lucy and me.

"Dancing, duh," they said grinned, before grabbing our arms and pulling us towards the dance area.

I managed to catch Chad's arm as Matt almost quite literally dragged me.

We all danced like maniacs for about an hour before leaving that area. Then we decided to get smoothies and relaxed for 15 minutes. When everyone had finished, Matt said, "Hey, let's go swimming!"

"It's almost 9 PM. Really, Matt?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yes, Allie, _really_!" He grinned.

So, we all ran back to the house to get changed. As we approached the pool area, I spotted Nathan and Tess sitting on the edge of the pool. Right as I stepped where the soil mixed with the sand, he kissed her. That's right. _Nathan_ kissed _her_.

Spinning around and shushing everyone behind me, I pointed to the pair in front of us. Instead of going through the back like we planned, we went around the sides of the house silently.

When we were all changed and ready to go back, we ran through the back as planned.

"You go, little bro!" Matt said, ruffling Nathan's hair as he ran past.

"Yeah, man!" Chad yelled to Nathan as he followed Matt.

I glanced back at the couple once we hit the sand. Nathan looked irritated and Tess couldn't stop smiling and blushing.

'_Well, at least __**one**__ couple got together on this trip.' _I thought to myself.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Matt shouted, taking the lead.

"Hey!" I yelled from the back, catching up to him.

When we hit the water, no one cared who the rotten egg was. All we wanted to do was wave jump. For the next 45 minutes, that's what we did. And let me tell you, wave jumping is so much more fun in the dark. But I don't recommend it, mostly because of what I'm going to tell you next.

I prepared myself to jump as a huge wave began to swell, coming toward us. Unfortunately, I blinked. The next thing I saw was the wave hitting me in the face with a whole lot of force. Being dragged under waves is one of the most terrifying experiences. We weren't out that deep, but even in the fairly shallow parts of the beach, it was scary. It's even worse in the dark. The last thing I remember is the water hitting me against the sandy bottom several times, knocking the air out of me and sending me into pitch black darkness.

Chad's POV

Wave jumping in the dark sure gives you a rush of adrenaline. After a huge wave hit, I looked around to see who wiped out. Instantly, I noticed Sonny was missing from the group.

"Guys… Where's Sonny?" I yelled.

Immediately, Matt dove under the water. Less than a minute later, he came back to the surface, holding Sonny.

I helped him carry her back to the beach while Lucy and Shane ran to the lifeguard's station.

We placed her on the sand as a crowd formed around us.

"What do we do?" I whispered, panic evident in my voice.

Suddenly, Matt pressed his lips to Sonny's, breathing air into her lungs.

I'd forgotten he was a lifeguard. Of course he'd know to do CPR on Sonny. As he continued attempting to give her CPR, Lucy and Shane sprinted over with one of the lifeguards. Just as they reached us, Sonny's eyes fluttered open. She coughed several times and lifted her head, looking around.

"What happened?" she said, rubbing the side of her head.

"Well, it looks like your friend here just saved you," the lifeguard said, gesturing to Matt.

Sonny looked at Matt and hugged him as the crowd clapped.

When they pulled away, Lucy hugged her and said, "Sonny! Are you alright? Don't ever scare us like that again!"

Before she could answer, Matt helped her up and said, "C'mon, we better get you back to the house. I think that's enough excitement for one day."

We picked up the towels we left on the sand and headed back to the house. I watched from behind as Matt wrapped a towel around Sonny and put his arm around her shoulders. In turn, she kissed him on the cheek and smiled.

That night when I went to bed, I kept replaying that moment in my head. What could it mean?

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUUNNN! I promise, I'll try to update ASAP. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This chapter's a little short, but I'm rushing a little. I'd like to finish this story before I go back to school. 2 - 3 more chapters in a little less than 3 weeks. And I'll be on vacation for a week. The next chapters will definitely be exciting.**

**PS. This might be my last multi chapter Channy fic, but I'll still do one-shots. I'm kinda sick of writing for just one ship. If you're a fan of Dalton by CP Coulter on fanfiction, I'm gonna try out some Jogan one shots. So look out for those.**

**Happy reading!**

Sonny's POV

I woke up a little late the next morning, gasping for air. I'd dreamt about my experience the night before. Holding your breath in the complete darkness, surrounded by water is _not_ the ideal situation to be in.

When I made it downstairs for breakfast, almost everyone had already eaten. After I had eaten what was left, I headed back upstairs to read _Mockingjay_. After my scare, I didn't feel much like going to the beach.

Around 2:00, I finished reading. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I tweeted, "_Just finished reading Mockingjay! Success! Thank you for writing such an amazing trilogy, Ms. Collins! :)_"

Then I made my way downstairs where I saw Chad, Lucy, Shane, Brian, and Matt standing in the living room.

"Hey… What are you all doing?" I asked, smiling.

"Hey Sonny," Shane said, "We're just deciding what movie to watch."

"How are you feeling today, Allie?" Matt said, moving towards me.

"I'm alright, thanks," I replied, hugging him.

"Oh, hey! They have all of the Harry Potter movies here! Except the last one, of course," Lucy said.

"We're _so_ watching these," Chad said, taking _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ off the shelf from behind Lucy.

No one objected, so we started the movie and all took our seats. Shane sat on the floor at the foot of the couch with Lucy next to him and Brian on the other side of her. I sat on the couch between Matt and Chad.

We ended up having a Harry Potter marathon. We finished _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ before noticing it was midnight. We'd been watching nonstop, with the exception of a small break to grab some dinner from the kitchen. None of us had noticed it was raining either.

Actually, raining was an understatement. It was a thunderstorm. Rain was pouring down. It was the kind of rain you can hear through the walls.

Each of us snuck silently into our rooms so we wouldn't disturb our families.

For about an hour, I tried to sleep, but I just couldn't. Every time I got close to falling asleep, the thunder crashed and woke me up.

Finally, I didn't know what else to do. So I silently crept down the hall and to the other side of the house where Chad's room was.

I knocked lightly on his door a few times before the door swung open.

"Hi… Sorry, did I wake you?" I said.

"Nah, s'alright. I couldn't sleep," he replied, holding the door open for me.

Then he seated himself on the floor leaning against the bed and facing wall.

Following him, I closed the door and took my place on the floor, facing him with my back against the wall.

He picked up his guitar and strummed a tune softly. A loud clap of thunder startled me and I flinched a little.

Chad must have seen me flinch, because he asked, "Don't like the thunder, huh?"

"Actually, that's an understatement," I said.

He continued strumming his guitar quietly and neither of us spoke. Again, the thunder crashed. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my head on my knees. A few moments later, I felt something around me. Lifting my head slightly, I saw Chad draping a blanket around me. Then he sat down next to me and set his guitar on his lap.

"You said something about how not liking thunderstorms is an understatement… Why's that?" he asked.

"It's kind of a long story…" I replied.

He looked at the window as it continued being drenched by the rain.

"I don't think either of us is in much of a hurry to do anything," he sighed, looking at me.

Swallowing thickly, I said, "I was about 13… I went over to a friend's house after school. I texted my mom to tell her, but I guess she didn't get the message. She called me a bunch of times, but I didn't hear my phone. Later, I checked my phone and called back. My dad came over to pick me up and I could tell he was furious. I sat in the back seat, because I was kind of mad at him for yelling at me. It was _pouring_, kind of like today and we couldn't see anything. At the last second, lightning lit up the sky... I saw another car spin out of control… And into us…"

I paused to take a deep breath, and Chad said, "Sonny, you don't have to…"

"No, it's okay. I want to…" I said.

"I kept screaming for my dad to wake up… I couldn't see anyone from the other car, so I called for 911, and then my mom. We sat with him in the hospital for days… He just didn't wake up…" I finished, sniffling a little.

Chad put his arm around me and said, "I'm so sorry, Sonny…"

When I didn't say anything, he gently guided my head to his shoulder.

He picked up his guitar and started strumming. Then he began singing softly.

_I've been alone,_

_Surrounded by darkness._

_I've seen how heartless_

_The world can be._

I knew the song. _'It's one of Darren's,'_ I thought, smiling to myself a little.

_I've seen you crying._

_You felt like it's hopeless._

_I'll always do my best_

_To make you see…_

_Baby, you're not alone,_

_'Cause you're here with me._

_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down,_

_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you._

_And you know it's true._

_It don't matter what'll come to be,_

_Our love is all we need to make it through._

Listening to him sing, I started to remember why I dated him in the first place. He could be arrogant at times, but he did have his sweet moments.

_Now I know it ain't easy,_

_But it ain't hard trying._

_Every time I see you smiling._

_And I feel you so close to me._

_And you tell me._

_Baby, you're not alone,_

_'Cause you're here with me._

_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down,_

_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you._

_And you know it's true._

_It don't matter what'll come to be,_

_Our love is all we need to make it through._

Wiping away a stray tear that escaped from my eye, I debated on joining in and singing with him, but continued listening instead.

_I still have trouble._

_I trip and stumble,_

_Trying to make sense of things sometimes._

_I look for reasons,_

_But I don't need 'em._

_All I need is to look in your eyes._

_And I realize…_

Finally ending the self-conflict in my head, I began singing softly with him.

_Baby I'm not alone,_

_'Cause you're here with me._

_And nothing's ever gonna take us down,_

_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you._

_And you know it's true._

_It don't matter what'll come to be,_

_Our love is all we need to make it through._

When I started singing with him, Chad glanced at me and smiled, but continued as well.

_'Cause you're here with me._

_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down,_

_'Cause nothing, nothing, nothing can keep me from lovin' you._

_And you know it's true._

_It don't matter what'll come to be,_

_You know our love is all we need._

_Our love is all we need to make it through…_

Smiling softly, I kissed his cheek and rested my head on his shoulder again.

He smiled and began playing the song again, but didn't sing along this time. Eventually we both drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: D'aww. The next chapter will be up ASAP.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: The next chapter will be the last. After that I think I'll take a break from writing Channy. As you can see, I've posted some of the Jogan fics I've tried. This chapter's a little sad. But I promise you'll like the ending. :P**

Sonny's POV

The next morning, I awoke around 9:00 AM. Looking around, I realized I was in Chad's room. We'd fallen asleep, sitting against the wall. I glanced out the window and saw the sun shining brightly through, casting shadows over the walls.

Slowly, I stood up and brushed myself off. Then, I picked up a pillow from the bed and placed it behind the blond boy's head. Carefully, I picked up his guitar. I'd reached the case before deciding to take a little detour.

Hoping he wouldn't mind, I walked out onto the balcony with his guitar and began the song softly.

_Standin' here in our final hour,_

_I can't believe this is the end._

_Now I wish that I had the power_

_To start this all over again._

The past two weeks were so much fun. I'd had a lot of fun, getting to see my family and friends again. And when I was with Chad, things weren't nearly as awkward. At least, I didn't think so.

_'Cause I know that I'm gonna _

_Miss you when you're gone_

_And I'd hate to leave it this way._

I didn't want to go back to the awkward stage we were in before this trip. But I didn't just want to stay stuck in the same zone forever.

_So just make a move,_

_You've got nothing to lose, no._

I wanted something to happen between… Anything, as long as it moved us back in the right direction. We seemed to be moving farther and farther apart before the vacation. I didn't want to relapse.

_Here I am,_

_Take a chance._

_What are you waiting for?_

_I'm telling you,_

_As a friend,_

_We could be so much more._

As I sang, I kept thinking about the way we were before. I missed it.

_I never thought anyone ever could _

_Make me feel this way._

_So make my day._

_What are you waiting for?_

_What are you waiting for?_

But the questions were: Did I really miss _him_? Or did I miss having a boyfriend? I was hoping to find out the answer before the trip ended.

_Don't make me feel stupid._

_Don't say I was wrong._

_Building this up in my mind for so long._

Did I love Chad? Did I love Matt? And if I loved them both, who would I choose?

_Now our time's running out._

_So you've got to be strong._

_If you want to make this right,_

_Break the ice,_

_Don't think twice._

_Take me away._

I wished, prayed, and hoped that one of them would do something. Anything to help me answer all of these questions.

'_What are you waiting for?_' I sang, asking Chad and Matt. Then, I realized I should really be asking _myself_. What was _I_ waiting for?

_I never thought anyone ever could_

_Make me feel this way._

_So make my day._

My internal song dedication was still unclear, even to myself. Who was I singing to? My best friend's brother whom I've known since birth? My ex-boyfriend, whom I've known for about 3 years?

_Here I am,_

_Take a chance._

_What are you waiting for?_

I needed one of the three of us to do _something_. Something that would help me see more clearly.

_I'm telling you,_

_As a friend, _

_We could be so much more._

I could see futures for Matt and I as well as I could with Chad. I just couldn't decide.

_I never thought anyone ever could _

_Make me feel this way._

_So make my day._

_What are you waiting for?_

_What are you waiting for?_

As the song came to a close, I sighed softly. I headed back inside, and set Chad's guitar down gently in its case. Then, I tiptoed quietly out of his room and back to mine.

During brunch, Lucy reminded me of something I'd forgotten about, "Hey, are we gonna go to that ball tonight? If we are, we still need to pick out dresses!"

She was referring to something we'd seen on a flyer at the outlet mall when we went to buy Claire's birthday presents. There was going to be an 'Independence Day Masquerade Ball' at the community center. Since most people would be away or busy on the real Independence Day, the community decided to have it earlier.

"Oh, yeah! Let's go shopping after everyone's done eating! If there's one thing I've learned from Tawni, it's how to last minute shop," I grinned.

"Are we allowed to come?" Carrie and Cassie asked simultaneously.

"Yup!" Lucy chirped, "High school students only!"

"Aw, man. Guess I'm out then," Brian mock frowned.

"Haha, sorry bro. But, _we_ on the other hand…" Matt smirked, gesturing to Shane, Chad, and himself.

"Does that mean we have to rent tuxes?" Shane asked.

Lucy and I looked at each other, then the boys, "DUH!"

4 hours, 11 stores, and 26 picture messages to Tawni later, everyone finally had their outfits for the ball.

"Why do girls take so long to shop?" Chad whined.

"Do you want some cheese to go with that wine?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The twins laughed and high fived me.

"Yes, actually. I'm starving!" Matt replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well then, let's head back to the house and eat. We have about 5 hours until the ball," Lucy said, smacking her brother on the arm and checking her phone for the time.

"I call shotgun!" Shane yelled, running ahead of us as we chased after him.

* * *

><p>The ball was in full swing when we arrived. It was more like a dance than a ball. Think of the school dance from the movie Selena Gomez was in, '<em>Another Cinderella Story<em>' or something.

It was held in the community center gymnasium. Tables of refreshments lined the shorter walls. Along the longer back wall was a small stage for bands to play. In addition to live music, there was a DJ's booth on the left of the stage. Throughout the night, bands would play their sets. Every other hour, there was open mic.

Looking around, I observed all the different masks people were wearing. Some were fairly plain, while others were completely bizarre. From what I saw, the mask fit their personalities quite well.

Lucy's mask was sky blue with little stars and white glitter sprinkled across the front, to match her ocean blue dress. A small bunch of cream colored feathers framed the top corners of her mask. The mask only covered her cheekbones and around her eyes.

Shane's was a half mask as well, but his was plain white. It was a great contrast to his dark tuxedo.

Matt's was a bright red half mask with orange and yellow flames. Being the weirdo he is, his mask didn't even remotely match his tux.

Chad wore a dark blue eye mask. The design was simply delicate golden vines intertwining across the front.

I had a golden colored half-mask. It was covered in black and pink vines. On the corner of the eyes, there were two small red roses.

Anyways, enough about the masks.

Lucy, Shane, Matt, and I danced for the first two hours. Chad said he wasn't really much of a dancer, so he hung around the back and talked to a group of dateless girls. Even when they don't know he's CDC, he has girls all over him. Go figure.

The twins had disappeared into the crowd as soon as we'd reached the gym. I caught glimpses of them a few times. It looked like they were having a good time talking to some sophomore boys near the refreshment tables.

When the hour for open mic started Chad rejoined us. He, Matt, Lucy, and Shane tried to talk me into singing. Fortunately for me, I won the argument, so we just continued dancing like the dorks we are.

Chad's POV

Towards the end of the night, they started the slow songs. The five of us sat out for the first few songs.

I watched as the couples waltzed around the gymnasium. Oh, how I envied them. I'm not much for dancing, but I would definitely dance with the girl of my dreams. Too bad she'd barely spoken to me all night.

Breaking my train of thought, a girl in a flowing periwinkle dress and dark blue mask approached me. I recognized her as the shy girl from the group I talked with earlier in the night.

"Excuse me? I, uh… I was one of the girls you talked to earlier? I was wondering… Would you like to dance?" she asked, smiling.

Glancing quickly at the group I was with, I noticed Lucy was deep in conversation with Shane while Sonny was laughing at something Matt said. Surprise, surprise.

Looking back at the girl, I flashed my signature "CDC" smile and said, "Sure, why not?"

As I led her to the dance floor, a new song began. I didn't recognize it, but it didn't really matter. We talked to each other for the most part.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she said.

I shook my head, "Nah, just visiting. How'd you know?"

"You're not tan enough to be a resident," she smiled knowingly.

"Ahh, yes. I can't get too tan. It wouldn't be good for when I get back home and go to work."

"Oh, why's that?" she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly, reminding me of a certain brunette.

"It's kind of complicated," I replied, not wanting to reveal myself just yet.

She smiled and nodded, not pressing the topic any further.

"Alright, folks! It's time for open mic! Only this time, we'd prefer the performers choose slow songs. Is that alright with everyone?" the DJ said through the speakers.

"Yeah!" chorused the crowd.

A few moments later, a boy with dark hair stepped up to the stage, followed by three other boys.

Using the mic attached to the piano, he sat on the bench and said, "How's everyone doing tonight? My name's Ben. The lead guitarist is Jesse, Mike is our bassist, and that's Aaron on drums. We are Dimensions Collide and we'll be performing Secondhand Serenade's song, Fall For You."

_The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting._

_Could it be that we have been this way before?_

Immediately, my mind became immersed in the song. All I could think about was Sonny.

_I know you don't think that I am trying._

_I know you're wearing thin down to the core._

I felt a little guilty. Was I really trying to win Sonny back over? I thought I was. Why hadn't things changed between us? Everything about us was still so awkward.

"Is everything alright?" the girl whom I'd forgotten I'd been dancing with said.

"Hmm… Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I lied, lowering my eyes to look at her.

"Are you sure? You seem quiet all of a sudden."

"Yeah, I'm just a little distracted, I guess," I replied, glancing over her shoulder.

From where we were dancing, I had a clear view of Sonny… Dancing with Matt on the other side of the gym. In that moment, my stomach hit the floor.

_This is not what I intended._

_I always swore to you I'd never fall apart._

Adrenaline shot through my veins. The only thing I could feel was jealousy.

_You always thought that I was stronger._

_I may have failed, but I have loved you from the start._

Normally, I never show emotion of any kind. I always keep the mask up. This time was different. I tensed up and the girl could feel it.

"You don't have to lie to me," she said. "I know you'd rather be over there with her," she said, glancing over her shoulder.

"I—"

"Just go," she smiled warmly. "I don't want to stand in the way. It looks like that guy she's dancing with is enough a problem for you."

I smiled genuinely at her and said, "Thank you, so much."

Kissing her cheek I said, "You're such an amazing girl… I don't even know your name."

"My name's Marina. Now go!" she said shoving me gently in Sonny's direction, then turning to leave.

"Wait a sec!" I said, lifting my mask for a moment. She turned around and gasped quietly.

"You're—" she began softly.

I nodded, "Thank you, again."

_So breathe in so deep._

_Breathe me in._

Taking a deep breath, I began making my way across the gym.

_I'm yours to keep._

_And hold onto your words_

_'Cause talk is cheap._

Every few steps, I looked around trying to spot them. They seemed to have vanished into thin air.

_And remember me tonight_

_When you're asleep._

Suddenly, I spotted them. They were still fairly far away.

"Excuse me, sorry," I said quickly, weaving through the crowd.

_Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you_

_Over again._

So many thoughts ran through my mind. What was I going to say?

_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day,_

_I swear it's true._

Was she going to feel the same way?

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find._

I stopped about two cafeteria tables' lengths away. What I saw shattered all the hope in my body.

All I could see was Sonny and Matt. Right as I had looked back up, he'd kissed her.

_Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you_

_Over again._

What hurt the most about it was, she didn't stop him. She just stood there and let him. I froze and just stared. Not knowing what to do, I ran.

_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day,_

I just walked away as quickly as humanly possible, without drawing attention to myself.

_I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find._

_You're impossible to find._

Right as the song came to an end, I pushed the door open and looked back.

They were still standing there, smiling at each other. It was like another stab of pain. I walked out of the building and sat outside on the back entrance steps. I took off my mask and rubbed my eyes, getting rid of potential tears.

After a few moments I heard the door open behind me.

"What do you want, Lucy?" I said bitterly, breaking the silence.

"Lucy? Is that her name?" a familiar voice said.

Looking up, I saw Marina standing there. In her hands were her mask and a blue cellphone.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else…" I said as she sat down next to me, setting the phone and mask down. "No, her name is Sonny."

"Oh, so the rumors are true? You still like her? Is that why you came here with her?" she asked softly.

I sighed and thought for a few moments. I knew I could trust Marina. She was genuinely concerned. I knew she wouldn't turn against me. So I said, "Yes, I still like her. That's pretty much the reason I'm here… Besides the fact that her mother invited me."

She simply smiled, "I think that's sweet. Judging by where we are, I guess she doesn't know you still have feelings for her."

I shook my head and turned my attention back to the ground.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly happened?"

"He kissed her. The guy she was dancing with. His name is Matt. He's been her best friend since before she came to Hollywood. I don't stand a chance against him."

She put a hand on my shoulder, "I wouldn't be so sure about that… But I'm really sorry you didn't get there in time…"

"It's not your fault," I said looking at her again.

Suddenly, the door opened again.

"There you are, Cooper—Oh, sorry. I'm not interrupting, am I?" said Lucy.

I rolled my eyes at her and said, "No. We were just talking."

"Well, we've been looking everywhere for you. We've gotta get back before the adults freak."

After I stood up, I held my hand out to help Marina up.

"It was nice meeting you, Marina." I picked up her phone and quickly added my number to it.

"Let me know if you ever need anything," I smiled.

Smiling back, she said, "Thanks, Chad," and walked back inside.

"What was that about?" Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.

"None of your business, Johnson," I smirked, putting my emotional mask up again, and rejoining the rest of the group.

**A/N: Review please? :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Last chapter! Just so you know, I will probably be writing less Channy. I'll still do one shots, though. I might delete the tumblr that goes with the story, since there's practically no one following it. I'm not sure yet. Anyways, I own nothing other than my OC's. Also, some of the lines in the end of the real story are not mine. They belong to Suzanne Collins. I won't tell you which though. You gotta read The Hunger Games for yourself. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

Sonny's POV

When we left the community center the night before, I noticed that Chad seemed unusually out of character. As far as I could tell, he seemed perfectly fine, just quieter. Then again, maybe he was just tired. I know I was.

Prior to our arrival, the parents were gathered in the living room, waiting for us. Luckily, we made it back before curfew with 2 minutes to spare.

After everyone had gone to their rooms for the night, I lay awake in bed, thoughts clouding my mind and preventing me from sleeping. I flashed back to a few hours earlier in the evening, just after Matt kissed me.

"_Matt…"_

"_Wait, Allie… Just hear me out. I've known you forever. I don't want to be 'just friends' anymore. I really like you… Will you be my girlfriend?"_

"_I—… I don't know. I'm sorry. I think I need some time to think…"_

"_Take your time. I won't rush you."_

"_Thanks… We should go find the others. It's getting late. Our parents will bury us alive if we don't get back before curfew."_

"_Alright, let's go then."_

Then I tried to remember the emotions I felt while he kissed me.

I was shocked. Confused. And kind of glad. That was what I was waiting. I'd been waiting for something to happen. Something to help me figure out my feelings. At least it got the ball rolling.

The next day, I woke up around 11. I'd fallen asleep around 3, after being kept up by my thoughts for so long.

After I'd eaten lunch, I retreated to the balcony outside of my room to think. Everyone was busy with things downstairs. The balcony was the only quiet place I could think of.

After about a half hour, Lucy stepped out onto the balcony.

"Hey, Sonny. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" she said, sitting on the floor across from me.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," I replied with a small smile. "What brings you here?"

"I meant to tell you this last night, but you seemed tired so I decided to wait," she said, barely able to contain her happiness.

"What are you talking about?" I said, smiling wider.

"Remember when you and Matt were looking for the rest of us so we could leave?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, about a minute before you found me and Shane, we…"

"_Yes?_"

"We kissed," she said, grinning.

"You what? Lucy, that's great! Why didn't you tell me you liked him?" I said, hugging her.

"I didn't know I liked him until then. We were talking and dancing during that song… What was it called? _Fall For You_ or something? Anyways, towards the end, we kind of ran out of things to say. So he just kissed me."

"So does that make you boyfriend and girlfriend now?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. We haven't really talked about it since," she said, playing with a bracelet she had on her wrist.

"Go talk to him!"

"I will, I promise… Just not right now. He, Matt, Brian, and the 'Triplets' are playing a video game downstairs. I don't wanna bother them."

"Oh, speaking of Matt…" I began.

"What about him?" she said with a curious look on her face.

"He kissed me last night," I stated, wanting to get this over with.

"When exactly was this?" she said, her expression changing to shock.

"During the song you were talking about."

"That's an awkward coincidence."

"Tell me about it."

"So, what are you going to do?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "I don't know. I'm still torn…"

"_Still_ torn?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I've been torn between both of them from the start of this vacation."

"Well, no matter what you do, everything will work out," she said reassuringly.

I smiled and hugged her again, "Thanks, Luce. You're an amazing friend."

"So are you," she grinned. "How about we go see what the plans for the afternoon are?"

"Okay… Race you downstairs!" I exclaimed, rushing inside.

"Hey! No fair!" she said, closing the door and racing after me.

* * *

><p><span>Chad's POV<span>

A few hours after lunch, the entire lot of us was at the boardwalk again. We were only there once before, for the carnival. But we never really got a chance to look around.

There were a lot of neat little shops along the boardwalk. We combed through a lot of them before finding a restaurant to have an early dinner at.

It was fairly large and almost directly on the shore of the beach. It was only about 30 yards away.

The food was absolutely amazing. Everything on the menu was seafood, of course. I think that was the best calamari I ever had.

The whole time we were at the boardwalk, I'd been texting Marina. She'd texted me a little after we'd arrived.

"_Hey Chad, it's Marina. Are you alright? I just wanted to see how things are going for you."_

"_Hey, Marina. No progress in either direction."_

"_Oh, that's kind of good, I suppose. At least it hasn't gotten any worse for you. You still have a chance."_

"_I still have a chance? I'm up against her childhood friend. How can I compete with him? He's known her longer. She's known him longer."_

"_You don't know that. People can surprise you. I say go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"_

"_She could say no, laugh in my face, and date him."_

I received her last text just as we got back, _"Wow, you __**are**__ dramatic. Just go tell her. Now."_

We arrived back at the house with bags of souvenirs at around 7:30. Immediately, all of the kids asked if they could go swimming and the adults gave in.

As they rushed around, Sonny made a suggestion to the usual crew, "Does anyone want to go to the beach and just hang there for a while?"

"I'll go if you want. Just give me a sec," I said, before heading upstairs.

I glanced back down the stair when I heard Matt say, "Oh, that sounds cool. I think I'll come."

My confidence dropped. I didn't want to have to confess in front of _Sonny_ let alone her possible new boyfriend.

Just then, I saw Lucy give him a look that said, _'Uh, no. You're staying here.'_

Then he said, "Actually, I've got some stuff to do. Maybe I'll join you later."

I saw Lucy look up to where I was on the stairs and nodded gratefully at her.

A few minutes later, I met Sonny at the back door of the house, with my guitar.

"Ready to go?" she asked, smiling a very familiar smile. I hadn't seen it in a while. It was the one she used to persuade me to go see chick flicks with her, go ice skating, and other things I would never do.

I nodded at her and held the door open.

When we reached the beach, there was barely anyone else left. Everyone had gone in for dinner. The view was gorgeous. The sky was turning pink, orange and yellow as the sun began sinking below the horizon.

"Wow," she said, mesmerized by what she saw.

"Yeah…" I said as I glanced at the sunset, meaning it more towards her than the sky.

I took a seat on the sand and she sat next to me. After I positioned my guitar, I quickly checked my texts.

Marina had sent another one, _'I assume you're telling her now, since you haven't answered me. Good. Let me know what happens!'_

I smiled and put the phone back in my pocket.

Slowly, I began strumming my guitar softly.

Sonny recognized the song immediately, indicated by the smile that spread across her lips.

I smiled at her, singing along to my guitar.

_There I was again tonight, forcing laughter, faking smiles. _

_Same old tired, lonely place. _

_Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes, and vacancy vanished when I saw your face._

_All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you._

This whole vacation started off a little awkwardly. I didn't know anyone besides Sonny and her mother. And not even her mother. I felt so out of place. The only one I trusted fully was Sonny.

_Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?" _

_Across the room, your silhouette starts to make its way to me. _

_The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy. _

_And it was enchanting to meet you. _

_All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you. _

Even from the beginning, besides my cast, she was the only person in the studios that I trusted. Or liked, really.

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go._

_I'm wonderstruck, laughing all the way home._

_I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew I was enchanted to meet you._

Sonny watched the sun as it set while I played the song for her. She seemed content just listening.

_The lingering question kept me up, 2 a.m., "Who do you love?"_

_I wondered 'til I'm wide awake._

_And now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door._

_I'd open up and you would say, "Hey, it was enchanting to meet you. _

_All I know is I was enchanted to meet you."_

That's when she closed her eyes. She was still listening, from what I could tell. But I guess she was thinking. She knew she had a choice to make. I knew it too.

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go._

_I'm wonderstruck, smiling all the way home._

_I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew._

As I got closer and closer to the end of the song, I knew this was it. No turning back now.

_This night is flawless, don't you let it go._

_I'm wonderstruck, singing here, all alone._

_I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew I was enchanted to meet you._

Sonny opened her eyes and looked at me. Her eyes said, '_You're changing the lyrics… What's this supposed to mean?'_

My eyes didn't answer her, because I knew the song would.

_This is me praying that this was the very first page,_

_Not where the story line ends._

_My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again._

_These are the words I held back as you were leaving too soon, _

_"I was enchanted to meet you."_

She looked like she wanted to interject, but I didn't let her.

_Please don't be in love with someone else._

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you._

_Please don't be in love with someone else._

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you. _

She gave up on trying to stop me from continuing. I could see in her eyes that the emotions running through her were conflicting.

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go._

_I'm wonderstruck, smiling all the way home._

_I spent forever wonderin' if you knew…_

She tried to look away, but my gaze kept her from doing so. I _needed_ her to understand that I meant every single word of it.

_This night is flawless, don't you let it go._

_I'm wonderstruck, singing here, all alone._

_I spent forever wonderin' if you knew I was enchanted to meet you._

_Please don't be in love with someone else._

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you._

_'Cause you are all of my dreams come true_

_And I'm just telling you:_

_Sonny, I'm still so in love with you._

As I ended the song, she was speechless. She stood up and dusted the sand off herself, preparing to head back inside, but I stopped her.

Standing up, I took a deep breath, swallowed my fear, and said, "Please, say something…"

She closed her eyes again, making her final decision.

Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me. It was just like our first kiss. A spark ran through me, just like electricity. When we pulled away, a small smile appeared on her face.

I smiled back at her and chuckled softly, "She was right…"

"Who was?" she asked, with a curious look in her eyes.

"Marina. She's this girl I met at the masquerade. I ended up talking with her and telling her about you. Today, she texted me to say I should let you know how I feel…"

"Oh. Well tell her I said thank you," Sonny grinned.

"I will," I said, taking her hand. "So… What are you going to do about Matt?"

"What do you mean?" she said, the smile slowly disappearing.

"I know he kissed you at the ball," I said, looking at the sand.

"Oh… I don't know what I'll do about him. I guess I should just tell him that I love you," she said, looking me in the eyes.

I smiled at her and she kissed my cheek as we walked back to the house.

* * *

><p><span>Sonny's POV<span>

A little over a day later, we were home. Finally back to California. As much as I loved Myrtle Beach, I was glad to be home.

After unpacking, I took out my diary and began writing. As I wrote, I flashed back to my confrontation with Matt.

"_I, um… I've made my decision about what you said at the ball…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I… I like you a lot, but…"_

"_Just as a friend… Right? I get it."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be. It's my own fault. I've wanted to ask you out since the 8__th__ grade. I guess I just missed my chance."_

Surprisingly, he didn't appear to be deeply hurt. But you never know unless it happens to you.

By the time I'd finished everything I wanted to do, it was nearly 11:00 PM. As soon as I flopped down on my bed, my phone started ringing.

Rolling over, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and said, "Hello?"

"Oh, good. You're still awake," said Chad.

"Yes, I am. I had to finish my unpacking," I said, laughing softly. "Why are you still up?"

"No reason…" he replied.

"Oh, really now?" I said with a smile evident in my voice.

"Well…" he said. I could tell he was smirking.

"Tell meee!" I laughed.

"Alright, alright. I just wanted to be the last voice you hear before you go to sleep," he said softly.

I grinned and replied, "Well, you got your wish. I'm going to sleep now and so should you."

"I just have one question, first."

I rolled my eyes and smiled, "What is it?"

When he whispers, "You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real."

"I love you too."

"Goodnight, Chad."

"Goodnight, Sonshine."

After we hung up, I fell back onto my bed and grinned at the ceiling.

* * *

><p><span>Epilogue<span>

"And ever since then, we've never been apart," Chad said, grinning at the crowd of smiling faces.

As everyone applauded and smiled amongst themselves, Chad spoke up again, "I'd like to propose a toast. To the former cast of _So Random!_ I know none of you approved of us at first, but thank you for supporting us all this time."

Sitting at their own table with their respective partners were Tawni & Nico, Grady & Mel, and Zora & Wesley. The former Randoms rolled their eyes, but laughed.

Then Sonny interjected, "And to my friends from the original Mackenzie Falls, thank you for welcoming me every time I came to visit your star."

The prestigious actors and actresses smiled proudly at their colleague and friend as they brought their glasses together and clinked them gently.

"To the Coleman's, Lucy and Shane. Thank you for helping me build up the courage I needed," Chad said, smiling in their direction.

They smiled back, clasping their hands tightly.

"And to my mom, Connie. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed it," Sonny grinned to her teary eyed mother.

"To Sonny's grandmother, Eleanor who unfortunately is no longer with us. She also played a big part in our story," Chad smiled sadly.

They paused in memory of her, toasted, and then Sonny continued on, "And to Marina Taylor. Thank you for finding Chad at that Masquerade Ball. If you two hadn't met, who knows where we'd all be."

Marina smiled warmly at the couple, her eyes saying, _'I was happy to help.'_

"And to all of you, for being here to share this special day with us!" Chad shouted happily.

"Before we wrap up this toasting session, I have something to add," said a tall blonde young man.

"To the Coopers. If Chad had never confessed to Allie, I never would have had the chance to meet my wonderful wife," Matthew said, smiling at the dark haired woman sitting at his table.

Everyone in the wedding vicinity shouted, "To the Coopers!"

It's true that each person remembers summer differently, but sometimes you have the opportunity to share them with someone special.

**A/N: The end! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Review please? :)**


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